[Posted in 2 parts -- combined into one here.  BIG]
 
Hi all.  I just returned from the petstore in the mall in Jacksonville and
picked up one little girl.  There were two others in the crate but they
were both little boys and seemed to be just fine.  She is a VERY TINY
little girl.  We are talking fits in your hand with room to spare.  Below
is the name, address, and telephone number for the petstores that are
responsible(I don't know if I can put them and if not just email me
personally and I will supply you wth them.) PLEASE email Marshall Farms
about this as well.  I have also enclosed their email address.  I have
emailed MF about this countless times.  Below is what I emailed them
recently.
 
   ---
Hi my name is Linda Proulx.  I am a very concerned ferret owner.  We have
"RESCUED" a total of 5 ferrets from a petstore here that were unable to eat
the hard kibble that was given to them.  Not only is this kibble very hard.
They are currently feeding them Iams kitten food.  There is no other way to
say this but this is pathetic.  I have contacted someone from Marshall
Farms countless times with responses but never any action.  These ferrets
are very close to death at times.  They are being fed hard kibble, and do
not know what to do with this.  It is my understanding that all kits are to
be fed moistened Marshall ferret food until they are 12 weeks old.  This is
not happening and has never happened.  They are also putting Iams kitten
food in the starter cages to help void the Marshall Farms warranty.  Of the
5 we have "RESCUED" from death all of them were very close to death.  I
will tell you about each one of them and maybe you would at least consider
stop selling and shipping to them.
 
1. Rinky Dink.  Under 2 years old.  could not eat any hard kibble.  She is
now and has been for her whole life fighting for her life.  This is due to
EGE.  (Esiliophenic Gastro Enteritis).  She is allergic to all types of
food and will not eat on her own.  She is being force fed chicken baby
food.  Her medical bills have gotten to be way over $4,000.00.  If it was
not for her very dedicated ferret mom she would be dead right now.
 
2,3,4. Bambi, Faline, Sweet Pea.  These three came in at the same time.
They were not able to handle hard food(Iams kitten food).  They were very
under weight.  Faline had a hypoglecemic seizure the night we "RESCUED"
her.  Bambi was choking on the food in the store because he did not have
his correct teeth in and was on solid kibble.  The petstore says 'Oh he is
just coughing a little, he will be fine.' Sweet Pea was unable to eat hard
kibble and is now having a hard time adjusting to any good food.  We now
have her on Mazuri and Eukanuba mixture because she is unable to eat the
Marshall food.  All three had horrible Upper Respiratory Infections.
 
5. Navidad.  Could not eat hard kibble at all.  He was so hungry that he
sucked a hole in my mothers t-shirt.  We brought food to the petstore, and
the manager refused to allow her to feed him.  I went back in later on and
we were determined to pick him up and they had three totally different
ferrets in there.  We asked what happened to them and they said they traded
them to one of the other petstores because he was agressive.  He was just
trying to get something to eat.  We went over to the other petstore and
told the manager over there.  They said the same exact thing that he was
aggressive.  We left the store with that ferret as well.
 
These are only the few that we have managed to catch.  Can you imagine the
number of ferrets that have died or have digestive problems because of this
that we were unable to catch or that a ferret knowledgeable person at least
would know of what to do.  I am asking one thing.  Please stop selling to
these three petstores.  If you cannot do this at least fix this problem.  I
will be continually checking back at these stores.  I am hoping we can get
this matter settled without more drastic measures.  Thank you for your time
and feel free to email me or you can call me at the telephone number below.
  ---
 
Please email them and call or write to the pet stores.  All three are
owned by the same individual.  His name is Tony Penello.
 
Pets -N- Stuff
302 Jacksonville Mall
Jacksonville, NC  28546
910-353-6887
 
The Pet Warehouse 1
331 Western Blvd.
Jacksonville, NC  28546
910-353-6959
 
The Pet Warehouse 2
1250-D Western Blvd.
Jacksonville, NC  28546
910-347-0101
 
We have picked up two from each one of these petstores.  And that is not
including the older ones that people turned over to them.  That would be
at a total of 8 older, sick ferrets and 6 babies unable to eat.
 
Linda and the furry ones
ICQ # 81643954
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[Posted in FML issue 3369]