I thought you would like to know that in order to pay for our rather costly
public-interest lawsuit challenging NYC's ridiculous ferret ban, we asked
not just ferret owners but various corporations who had a financial
interest in selling ferrets and ferret products to help out.
 
We did receive some substantial donations from a major breeder and a
national petstore chain (they remain anonymous at their request, probably
fearing retaliation from the same mean-spirited Giuliani bureaucrats who
instituted this ban).  But, when we asked wealthy Petland Discounts, which
has a couple hundred stores in this area, not only were we ignored, but
treated very rudely by their corporate headquarters when we attempted to
follow up.
 
You may have seen Petland's president, Neil Padron, on late night TV
commercials.  While he touts himself as some affable pet lover on TV, I can
assure you that he treated me with rudeness and defiance.  He even had his
lawyers send me a nasty letter for suggesting that he was being greedy by
sucking the NYC market dry and not give anything back to his loyal
customers.
 
This company is a wealthy company with a substantial advertising and
promotion budget.  We simply cannot understand why they can't pitch in a
few bucks to help overturn this ban when it ultimately benefits them!
Nonethless, they flatly refused, and were quite nasty about it, even when
I informed them that their competition had helped out.
 
I've been buying my ferret food and supplies from the Petland Discounts
on East 86th Street in Manhattan for ten years now.  But no more.  Now
I'm going to their competition, who gave us $1,500 for the cause, and who
opened a store just down the street.
 
If you wish to contact Petland Discounts, here's the info:
 
Neil Padron, president
All Pets Inc. (Petland Discounts)
355 Crooked Hill Road
Brentwood, NY 11717
tel. 516-273-6363
fax. 516-273-6513
[Posted in FML issue 2932]