>From:    Juliana Quadrozzi - GA Domestic Ferret Association
>Subject: I'm a foster mom
 [and]
>Subject: ferret shelter overpopulation propaganda
>It really is a shame that what could be an informative perspective, whether
>in agreement or not, should lose all consideration & respect because of the
>personal need to include completely unnecessary & uncalled-for, snide
>remarks.
 
Something about pots and kettles comes to mind.  We'll leave it at that.
 
Apparently though you REALLY misunderstood our post:
>others whose only consideration is that the ferret doesn't wind up as pet
>food
 
That was only ONE example of what might disqualify someone - meant
ironically in jest.  Please read more carefully before you get so upset.
 
Some folks call and if the very first question is "what can I get for $10?"
the answer is "nothing".  If they argue that we should give them away we
likewise turn off the conversation quickly.  We have declined to place a
ferret which someone wanted to chase pigeons out of their barn.  There have
been too many cases to list them all.
 
BUT... we will not be guilty of economic prejudice.  We will not consider
ourselves better than people who want to adopt ferrets.  We will not place
ferrets in what we think is a dangerous situation.  There are some on the
list who seem happy belittling poor Southern Country folk.  We think some
of them are fine folks and as worthy of consideration as more urban folk.
We left the city to live with the more honest good Southern folk.
 
We placed a pair of ferrets with a family that was obviously poor but
equally obviously caring.  We disagree with several people some of whom we
deeply respect on this issue.  This family had already had a ferret but it
had died (yes they do die) and the tears of joy from the families little
girl when we delivered (meaning we saw the home) made us quite sure that
this ferret would be loved.  If we didn't place this pair of ferrets then
this family would have had to spend even more money to get pets from a pet
store.  Its better that those funds would have gone to food than to paying
a purchase price.  It reduced the shelter population.  Whats the problem?
Oh when there was a problem they immediately called us.  Turns out they
tried to keep the pair of ferrets apart at night - one with the grandmother
and the other with the mother and daughter.  The ferrets protested by
refusing to use their litter box.  We'd love to claim credit for the
solution but this poor family figured it out for themselves.
 
No other placement of ferrets has ever made us feel better about the world.
 
>money-hungry breeders that will sell pets unconditionally.
 
Or money hungry shelters.  They do exist.  We won't get into naming names.
 
>Let's talk a little bit about shelters creating their own overpopulation
>problem.
 
We brought the point up so sure...  Everyone knows you mean us though you
don't use our names.
 
>I realize that unfortunate situations like that exist, but to generalize,
>& insinuate that shelter overpopulation is a result of restrictive adoption
>requirements is ludicrous.
 
In your estimation perhaps its ludicrous.  In our experience we see it
happening.  Not all shelters of course, we never said it was.  You again
badly misunderstand us.  No generalization was made.
 
Some "shelters" are full at 6 ferrets.  Others feel they are lucky when
they get down to 40.  Some are constantly taking in and placing ferrets.
Some are just collections masquarading as shelters.
 
The shelters we know of are far to disparate to generalize about all of
them.  Even to the point of calling them all good.  There are shelters
we do not think are good.  They are bad for themselves and bad for the
ferrets individually and generally.
 
>And to say that those unfortunate shelters w/exorbitant outstanding
>expenses are a product of their own making, is completely self-serving.
 
Gosh who said that!  But in some cases it is true.  Mismanagement of the
shelter is putting them in financial ruin.  Some are well run but do so
much good they too are "running in the red".
 
But pray tell, how is it self serving?  What good could we possibly get
out of playing the outspoken child from "The Emperors New Clothes"?  We
get rather much pain from some of the zealots on this list.
 
>It's always very easy for self-righteous individuals to pass judgement,
>when they don't have to deal w/the problems that others endure.  For them
>we are the tree in the forest.
 
Yes it is apparently easy for you to pass judgement on people.  You did on
us with out ever having met us.
 
We do have problems with our shelter.  Still trying to place out the over
40 we took in last summer at one time.  All but a handful were whole -
mostly jills which are more expensive to spay than to neuter hobs.  Of the
already altered ones most of those are too old to place.  We absorbed them
into our numbers.  There was a litter of kits in with the 40+.  We had to
finish raising them.  Many of the old ones and the kits were near death.
One was dead when brought here.  Some have been placed already.  Many are
still awaiting spaying.  Our vasectomized hob is very very busy.
 
We just don't get into bragging about how good we are because we "do so
much" and how bad everyone else is because all the ferrets we get were
abused.
 
Understand the real situation before you pass judgement.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2302]