>From:    kasey mack <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: rip off artists
 
You're not alone.  We also had an unfortunate incident w/a very good con
artist - it was the very 1st adopt I ever did.  He was a young man who
worked at a pet retail store.  He was clean cut & came across as both
responsible & sincere.  I adopted 2 bonded ferrets to him that came from a
very concerned who was taking in his ailing grandmother who was extremely
allergic.
 
He called me about 10:00pm on a Fri night a few months later from the
emergency clinic to tell me that the little hob was sick & he couldn't
afford the treatment.  I rushed down to the clinic & was talking to him
while we waited for the Dr. He said it happend very quickly & he didn't know
what to do.  I felt terrible for him...until I finally spoke to the Dr.
While consulting w/the Dr., he looked at me like I had 2 heads when I told
him how bad I felt about this happening so quickly to this poor guy.  When
the Dr. brought the ferret into me I understood why.  The poor little hob
was completely emaciated & infested w/more fleas than I have ever seen
before on a ferret.  He was hydrated (now I wish one of us would have
thought of a blood transfusion for the flea anemia) & I brought him home to
have him die in my arms a few hours later.
 
The clinic gave me this guy's address the next day & without thinking I
went, alone, to get the other ferret.  When he opened the door I told him I
wanted to check on the remaining ferret.  He wouldn't let me in & brought
her out in a big filthy carrier.  He went in to get a cigarette so I grabbed
her & ran for my car.  He chased me & I pulled out my tear gas (boy am I
tough, I was shaking like a leaf), that stopped him from coming any closer.
I jumped in my car & took off never to hear from him again.
 
Then, one day I get a call from a woman who was demanding that I give her
the ferret she paid $75 for.  I was completely clueless as to what she was
talking about.  She explained to me that this young man had represented
himself as the GDFA, promised to adopt a ferret to her for $75, & he was
badmouthing me because he couldn't understand why I wouldn't give her the
ferret she paid for.  Luckily, she had him prosecuted for fraud & he went
to jail.  I later came to find out he worked at several pet stores & was
stealing animals.
 
More than anything, my heart breaks for the little one he killed w/neglect.
It seemed like giving up his 2 ferrets was the hardest thing the original
owner ever had to do.  I will always feel the guilt of having let him & his
ferrets down.  Juliana Quadrozzi
[Posted in FML issue 2342]