RE: Pet shops and their guarantees
 
The problem with the two- week guarantee is that some things take longer to
manifest themselves that two weeks. Like an incomplplete spay for one!  There
are more and more of these showing up in the midwest as a result of a careless
breeder/seller alleged to be operating in Minnesota. One case was really
bizarre. A customer of mine purchased a female from a pet shop in the suburbs.
Things went fine until she hit 'puberty' and went into heat. She was supposed
to have been spayed and descented. Well he took her to one vet , who quoted him
a price. Not being able to afford that, he went back to the shop and demanded
that they pay for the operation. They said yes, but only if he went to their
vet. He took her to the vet and the vet told him THAT HE COULDN'T OPERATE ON
HER UNTIL SHE CAME OUT OF HEAT! Not knowing the urgency he waited. ...
Being his first ferret, he wasn't familiar with the consequences and he lost
the little jill.  I don't know what legal action he took, but I hope he at
least filed a grievance with the local Veterinary Medical Association and the
Dept of Agriculture.
In a side note, this ferret breeder (allegedly in Minn.) is counterfeiting
then Marshall Farms Tatoos in the pinna of the ear, so people think they're
getting a Marshall Farms ferret, when they're NOT!
A friend of minetook her newly  adopted ferret into the vet for his Rabies shot
 on
saturday and learned that one of their clients had brought in a pair that they
had adopted from a ferret shelter in the 'burbs that were in the last stages of
distemper! She askes if it was the GCFA shelter and they said id "no". Is
there a third shelter operating near Chicago?
 
Just got my copy of the Michigan ferret law (all 4 pages)! CONGRAT MICH! In
reading it (my dad is an attourney and tought me the lingo) I see that the
people in Mich  have done their homework. On thing I noticed is that a ferret
under 6 weeks of age will not be imported into Mich wunless it is accompanied
by its natural mother. This means that out of state breeders selling to Mich
pet shops must wait til thekits are 6 weeks old to ship them in , and then
only if they have their paperwork in order.
 
Well, enough from me. Happy ferreting!
Dale
[Posted in FML issue 1106]