Hi Randy;
 
You wrote a post today on the FML that talked about seizure of ferrets.
 
I'm just curious to find out why you thought you would be able to keep the
ferrets I babysat....
 
I had a written contract with her, and the care rate was paid up to date.
In terms of the adrenal surgery, that happened after she surrendered the
ferret to the ferret shelter I volunteer for.  Ferrets surrendered to the
shelter are immediately booked for an appointment with the vet, and then
determination of the ferret's condition is given.  If the ferret needs
medical care, and is deemed to be a good candidate for the treatment, the
procedure is then carried out.  This woman surrendered the first ferret
because she could not afford medical care - in this case, adrenal surgery.
The same goes for the second surrender as well.
 
I did not personally incur any expenses out of pocket, save the cost of
treats, as she eventually bought the food I requested and I took my fair
share of it.  She also paid me for litter which I again took an amount I
deemed fair of what was owed to me.
 
I'm not sure what legal action I could have taken against her.  Maybe you
could enlighten me on this point as I am still a little confused as to what
I could have legally done to keep her two remaining ferrets.  Because, if
there was anyway I could have kept them from her, I would have.  From the
many responses I got to this thread, I got numerous suggestions that were
highly tempting to follow through on, but unfortunately had an illegal
basis to them.
 
The only option I had left was to try to educate her as best as I could.
Only time will tell to see what exactly sunk in or not.  This woman has at
her disposal the volunteer services of those members who answer the hotline
of our shelter.  All the members who do this are aware of this case.  I
also base some of my hope on her husband, who has been the saving grace in
all of this.  He is also partly responsible for her surrendering the second
ferret.
 
I'm not sure if you happened to read all of my posts regarding this case,
but I would be happy to send them all to you if you like.  I just wanted to
make sure that in having an open discussion about the seizure of ferrets,
that we are speaking from a common ground and that all the particulars of
this case are clearly defined, and that when others are placed into a
similar position, that no one is getting the wrong impression, or getting
the wrong idea of when a private home is legally able to keep a ferret in
their care.
 
And maybe what is confusing about this case is that I took on babysitting
her ferrets as a private deal, and then ended up fostering these two, as I
am a volunteer and one of the foster homes for the ferrets surrendered to
our society.  It made things simpler to keep them with me.  The society
didn't have to locate a foster home, and they were already under my care -
progress or decline of the adrenal ferret would be easy to determine.
 
I'm glad this discussion is continuing for there is alot to be learned from
experiences such as mine and of yours, Randy.  I do feel that we need to
make a delineation of Private Home Babysitting vs Shelter Babysitting, even
though there may be alot of overlap between the two.  Perhaps this will
result in the making of a contract that is clear and concise, and makes
the facilitation of the seizure of a ferret in need without a doubt, and
carries no grey areas.
 
I look forward to hearing from you.
 
hugs to you and yours
Betty and Her Blur O'Fur
For the Love of Ferrets...
[Posted in FML issue 3106]