I read Howard Davis' post about the LIFE web site and visited it today for
the first time, curious about the "ferret shelter crisis" article.
 
I read the shelter article and all the information on Marshall Farms that
LIFE has archived on the site.  I was shocked when I realized how many
ferrets end up as unwanted pets and are abandoned at shelters every year.
For my first seven years as a ferrret owner, I knew no one else who had even
heard of them.  They were classified as an "exotic" at the vet and I never
saw any ferret-specific items at pet stores, etc.
 
I cannot believe how many ferrets are produced by big breeders like Marshall
Farms every year!  I don't understand who these breeders think their market
is.  Weekly visits to local pet stores (three of whom carry ferrets
regularly -- though none use MF) have shown me that ferrets are quite
popular around here.  Every few weeks they get in a new batch of kits, and
one by one they disappear..  but where do they all go?
 
I have "shopped" for ferrets exactly three times in the last seven years.
 
Unfortunately, I had no idea that shelters existed until I joined the FML.
And even then I did not pursue adopting a shelter ferret far enough (my
boyfriend is a first-time ferret owner and I felt two babies would be best..
I didn't realize shelters rescue babies too).
 
If "Ferret Math" ever hits this household again it will be with a shelter
ferret.  I am now of the opinion that purchasing a fert at a pet store is
like buying a dog or cat there -- something that would never even cross my
mind!  I will also make a financial donation to a shelter as soon as I am
able to do so.
 
I have seen the horror of dog and cat over-population first-hand.  I
volunteered at an animal shelter for a summer when I was in high school and
had to quit because I came home in tears every day.
 
My good wishes to all the shelters out there who do such a wonderful job of
providing these little guys with a shot at happiness.  I used to brush off
the shelters as a rarity, as if they didn't have to handle the raw number of
animals that traditional shelters face.  I was certainly wrong.
 
Melissa A. Durfee
[Posted in FML issue 1750]