After finding out that our new baby Paige was deaf I contacted path
valley and it went like this:
 
----- Original Message -----
 From: Robert Marshall
 To: pathfarm[...]
 Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 8:18 PM
 Subject: deaf ferret?
 
I've recently purchased the most gorgeous baby ferret and we noticed
that she was very vocal and when we called her name there was never a
response.  I belong to several ferret groups (on-line and socially) and
after extensive testing (non medical) it turns out the she is deaf.
What can one do about this?
 
I know you have a guarantee with your ferrets, but what does one do in
this situation?
 
any information would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks for your time
 
 
Their response is as follows:
 
Thank you for your email and concern.
 
Deafness has really not been a problem with PVF ferrets.  However.....
as I am sure your veterinarian has probably already explained to you,
deafness can have many causes.
 
Deafness is very difficult to identify in ferrets because it is so common
for ferrets to ignore even very loud noises.  When a ferret is "busy" and
interested in exploring, they will ignore even the most obvious attempts
to get their attention.
 
In addition, you need to contact the pet store where you purchased the
ferret to seek their policy on something like this.
 
Path Valley Farm, Inc.
 
So, I even ventured to the point to call these "people" and try to
address this problem verbally with them so they couldn't just "blow me
off" with a simple letter.  After being givin' a major run-around and
transferred from this person to that, finally some woman "dealt with me
accordingly"
 
In so many words I am just some money hungry consumer who bought a ferret
and felt I could rip off the company by drumming up some ficticious
problems that don't exist in ferrets, just to try to regain the money
I spent.  Is this ludicris or what?  so much for customer service and
trying to please the customer.  I thank path valley for the precious
baby I got but I will never support their business again.
[Posted in FML issue 4305]