I am very tired of people flaming/slamming others who choose to aquire
a ferret from anywhere besides a rescue. I have been lucky enough to
have had 6 ferrets grace my life and my home since 1999. The first 2
were given to us by a neighbor (a single mother with 3 toddlers, 3
cats - one with a whole litter of kittens they decided to keep & the 2
ferts) because she no longer had time for them. We were the third home
they had in as many years - but most importantly, their last forever
home.

Two years after they died my husband surprised me with a tiny kit from
a pet store on Valentine's Day. My sweet Valentino ("Tino" for short)
only stayed with us for a very short 12 days before he went to the
Rainbow Bridge. We never found out why - woke up one morning to find
him dead on the cage floor. The same day I went to a different pet
store to buy the last remaining ferret they had - a tiny sable girl
that shared the same birthday as Tino ironically. Both of them were
Marshall Farms kits by the way. My little Kira-belle is now a healthy,
happy dancing 2 yr old.

In August I adopted a chocolate boy, Danny, at the Buckeye Bash who was
1 1/2 at the time & had been through 2 previous owners (one suspected
of either abuse or neglect) plus the shelter for 8 months. We're his
4th residence - but now his permenant forever home.

In October I spied a beautiful, champagne/cinnamon boy again at the pet
store. Poor baby was 4 months old (another Marshall's), had been the
lone ferret left from his litter for over a month, was rather large
(full grown) & never knew the outside of a cage. That is my boinging,
crazy, flying Shakespeare.

Now how can others not agree that the ferrets in the pet stores & or
from breeders need "rescuing" as well?!?! Especially the pet store
babies - who more times than not are in the care of employees who
usually don't have the first clue how to maintain these wonderful
animals properly? How are these creatures without proper food or
stimulation/exercise & veterinary care not as deserving as a ferret who
has already been out in the world, only to be surrendered to a rescue
or shelter? Doesn't every single fuzzy, WHEREVER he/she may come from
deserve a stable, loving, caring forever home?

So for those slamming poor Ruby for wanting a breeder ferret, please
explain to me what would/will happen to all the breeder (& pet store)
ferrets if you get every single person to boycott these avenues? Won't
those eventually end up in shelters once they are "too old" or deemed
inferior for some other reason?

Every single ferret on God's green earth deserves the same chance
to find & give happiness to a loving family. I am all for adopting
a rescue, but please remember they probably started out in either a
pet store or from a breeder once too.

Jacci
Kira the Wonder Fert, Danny Phantom & Shakespeare the Courageous

[Posted in FML 5486]