With all of the postings about shelters being breeders, shelters and private
owners selling ferrets, and especially the ranting of Mr. & Mrs. Harper at
the GLFA show this past weekend, I thought my opinions were needed.  Well,
most likely not, but too bad!
 
Way back in 1996, an older couple approached us at a show & was interested
in a ferret we were showing & had for adoption.  He was a big, 7 month old
albino alter bred by ourselves that went by the name of Harry Houdini.  He
is, I think, the smartest ferret I have ever run across.  As a kit of 12
weeks or younger, he used to let himself, his litter mates & all the other
ferrets out of their cages in the middle of the night.  We would wake up to
ferrets all over the house getting into trouble & Harry would just watch us
collect everybody!  When he looked at you, you could see him thinking &
figuring things out.  So anyhow, this older couple, the Harpers, kept coming
back & talking to us & holding Harry & coming back again.  They ended up
taking Harry home with them as a companion to their other ferret.
 
Well, weeks go by & we get a phone call.  Harry is getting along with their
ferret just wonderfully - but he is biting the living hell out of the
Harpers!  So back to our house he comes.  We let him down on the floor to
play & he runs over to Mr. Harper & bites him - worse than a normal ferret
"drive by" - he actually goes out of his way to bite him on purpose!  I was
amazed!  I asked what they did to reprimand him for biting.  Well, a lot of
gentle "no, no, no honey", random thuds on the nose, and lots of handling
with welding gloves.  WELDING GLOVES!?!?  They let him bite them when they
had the welding gloves on!  They told us they hoped we could sell him to
somebody else.  We told them that as long as he was biting, we couldn't
place him.  We asked what they wanted & we all agreed upon replacement with
another kit when one was available.  After thinking about it, I decided that
I didn't want these people having one of my kits & returned them their money
for Harry.  They were not happy & were quite confused, but I felt better
knowing another of my ferrets wouldn't be taught to bite.
 
Well, after over a year of handling by many different people, a bite-free,
nip-free Harry (which didn't take long since he is SO smart) was offer for
adoption at the GLFA FerretQuest on May 16, 1998.  Well, again the Harpers
were there & Mrs. Harper was very nasty in expressing the fact she thought
it wrong for us to have him leave our house!  She told many people about it
about how bad we were.  Bet she didn't tell anybody about the welding
gloves.  She told us we couldn't offer him for adoption!  Well, why not?
He would be a rescue in my book!  Is she saying no rescue ferret should be
placed?  Is he not a rescue ferret since I bred him?  Am I not considered a
shelter because I am a breeder?  Why would I not have the option to offer a
wonderful ferret to a loving home?
 
I am a breeder & although I do not advertise as a shelter, I have many
unwanted ferrets come to my door.  We take in ferrets from the local animal
control, too.  Mostly bitters & throw aways.  I think it is "stupid" - as
was posted here - for breeders to not care for unwanted ferrets.  I agree
with the Killians that breeders know more than the average bear about
ferrets & their needs (I am not saying that shelters know nothing about
ferrets, their care, or needs!  I give them much credit for their dedication
&compassion!).  Being a ferret breeder doesn't mean playing with ferret kits
all the time.  It means researching health maintenance procedures,
behavioral problems, etc.  There is a lot of work and many shed tears that
go into breeding, raising, and placing ferrets.
 
I think for private individuals that are needing a new home for their
ferrets should charge a price for the animals to ensure they don't have
"garbage picker" type people taking the ferret because it is free.  How
many times have we seen posts from people that said "a friend gave me a
ferret & I couldn't resist since it was free!"?  I may be a fool by
thinking this, but I believe it is true!
[Posted in FML issue 2312]