It is unfortunate that in your story, Jennifer, there are two people at
fault.  You and the shelter operator were obviously not on the same page;
she did not warn you about medical costs or care for senior ferrets
(unless I am mistaken and you left that out) and you for not researching
Pheobe's needs before taking her into your home.  Yes, you are mostly to
blame, because as a ferret owner, you should have known that an older
ferret needs a considerable amount of time and care as well as money
towards medical bills.  As with any animal, you should know what you are
getting into before you decide to take them home, even to foster.  If
you knew she couldnt afford to help you out, why did you take her?
 
The biggest loser in all of this is Phoebe.  It is so incredibly sad and
heartbreaking that there are ferrets born every day who should never have
been bred, who will never have a permanent owner.  Blaming someone who
spends their free time caring for animals who do not have loving homes,
whose careless owners did not research the pet they were buying, did not
care enough about an animal life to learn how to care for them...its
callous.  We are human beings and make mistakes, you both obviously
made them.  You dont need to call her out and throw blame around helter
skelter over the FML.  If no one will adopt to you, then you should look
into another animal, like a cat or dog, right?
 
If you had taken a special needs ferret from my shelter and cared for it
for 10 months then brought it back because you didnt know what you were
getting into, I wouldnt adopt to you again, either.  Im sorry, but
shelter operators ARE busy people who have to take care of MANY animals
at one time.  They need foster parents to help them out!  You complain
about not having a life while you had this ferret, oh poor you.  There is
no pity I could possibly feel for you.  That shelter operator gets
ferrets dumped at her door at all times of the day and night.  She relies
on other people just to spread SOME of the work around so maybe she can
work for a living or get a few more minutes of sleep.  So, you spent a
lot of time caring for a ferret; so what?  Do you want us to forgive you
for abandoning her when she needed you?  Forget it.  Learn from your
mistake by only taking on what you can handle from now on.  Taking care
of an animal life is a gift, so next time, dont squander it.  Swallow it
and be responsible.  And remember: those baby ferrets get OLD in only a
few years.  If you cant handle it, dont get one.  Period, no excuses.
 
Im not writing this to start a war, you brought this onto the FML.  So I
am going to give you my opinion, and I bet you 50 bucks there are a lot
of people who agree with me.  Maybe you shouldnt air your dirty laundry
on here anymore.
 
N.M.
[Posted in FML issue 5210]