Times Square had been closed off for some time in the past week, due to
buildings falling apart and causing a hazard for residents, business ppl,
and tourists. So they evacuated the entire area, but many ppl didn't bring
their pets, since they were told it was only temporary. Well, it's been
several days now, which is definitely not temporary. Bummer is, the city
wouldn't let pet owners back in to feed their pets or anything. You may
or may not have read about the guy who snuck back in to feed his cat.
OK, ok, I'm getting to the ferret part. :o)
So, they *finally* sent in the Fire Dept. to rescue the animals Monday, and
many were taken to the ASPCA and helped (some are still unaccounted for).
Included in the bunch were two ferrets. Now, as we all know, NYC is a FFZ,
and this was duly noted in a NY Times story about the animals being rescued,
which mentioned that the ferrets had not been released to their owners like
the other pets, but held while the owners negotiated with the NYC Health
Dept. over their legality.
So I started my calls. Called the Health Dept, they forwarded me to the
Animal Shelter, which didn't answer the phone. So I called the good ol'
ASPCA, and they were *very* helpful.
I explained that I wanted to check in on the status of the ferts, and to see
if there was anything I could do (get in touch with shelters, volunteer to
foster, etc.). It turns out that the ferts were treated (fed and
rehydrated), and returned to their owners today. One woman I spoke to in
the information dept told me that the city brought them to the ASPCA for
confiscation, and that the agency promptly told the city that they wouldn't
have any part of confiscation, as inappropriate as it was in this situation
(go ASPCA!). The media relations person I spoke with (since the story was
run in the Times, they sent me there, too) said that no action is currently
being taken against the owners by the city at this time, and that the
ferrets are happily back with their owners.
I left my name and number, just in case the owners, or the ASPCA for that
matter, ever needed ferret related help. I'm no expert or shelter mom/dad,
but I'm pretty good at finding help when it's needed if I can't help all by
myself. They said they'd let me know if anything came up, or if the city
took action against the owners in any fashion.
Yay! A happy ending! If those owners are members of the list, I hope
everything goes well, and I send my best.
Andrea
Lucy - "I don't want to go to the city, momma, there isn't enough
grass."
Gabriel - "If they've got food, I'm there!"
+ ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ +
Andrea Mercado, Web Developer
T3 Media, Inc. + 285 West Broadway + NYC + 10013
vox: 212.334.0944 ext 256 + fax: 212.334.2472
Come visit! http://www.t3media.com
+ ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ +
[Posted in FML issue 2384]
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