Hello fellow FMLers,
I am in no way trying to bash/flame anyone or supress people from voicing
their opinions.  I just feel I have to defend something that is dear to my
heart.
 
This message is directed primarily to Michelle's post and anyone who has
questionable feelings towards ferret shelters and their adopting policies.
She, as I'm sure many other people do, feel uncomfortable, and if you will,
"turned off" by all the personal questions ferret shelters ask before
adopting out one of their angels.  But please understand, the directors do
it only to protect the ferret, who probably has already gone though neglect
or abuse, only to wind up in the shelter.  Many times these ferrets have
special circumstances and certain needs, that only a certain ferret owner
can provide, and is a major reason why screening is done in the first place.
 
How many times have people wandered into a pet store, perhaps picking
something up for their other pets, and walked by the ferrets for sale.
People think they're so adorable and funny and end up buying them on impulse
without knowing anything about their basic needs such as feeding a high
protein diet and many hours of roam time.  So then, since they don't know
any better or where else to turn, they ask a sales associate who possibly
doesn't know the first thing about ferrets.  The new ferret owner, following
the pet store's advice, can unknowingly be not giving their new ferret the
best home it deserves.  A ferret constantly kept in a cage, only handled
occasionally can become depressed or phycologically deprived of the
attention it needs.  This, in turn, can cause behavior problems and the new
ferret owner may not want their pet after a few months.  So then they wind
up at a shelter.  Perhaps if pet stores had to conduct screening, or
required people to have basic knowledge of their new ferret, there would be
very few shelters around.
 
Now, I'm not trying to say pet stores know nothing about these fuzzies.  I
have come across some OUSTANDING pet stores that handle the ferts on a daily
basis, are rather knowlegable about their needs and vet care, and know where
to turn to if they don't know the answer.  But sadly, these pet stores seem
to be few and far between.
 
I have a few MF ferrets, and even though I question some of their policies,
I have still bought them.  Personally, I feel they are taken entirely too
young from their mothers and fixed/decented at too early of an age.  But
that's an entirely different subject.....
 
The directors ask these questions to protect the ferrets that have already
been through too much already.  It's for the ferret's benefit.  I feel these
questions, such as work schedule, dwelling, income, and marital status, are
important and necessary.  If a person works all the time, how can they give
their ferrets any playtime or human interaction.  If a person's income is
low, and can barely pay rent, pay for the car, and make ends meed, how are
they expected to care for a ferret?  Initial vet costs for a kit can be
rather expensive; I know, I have 6.  Can they adequitly be able to finance a
yearly examination?  Or what about if an emergency comes up, the ferret need
life-saving surgury TODAY.  The ferret can't wait until the end of the month
to see if there's any extra money.  How can a person on a low or fixed
income meet these demands?  Another example, a person is living in a one
bedroom apartment.  Is there really enough ferret-safe room for the animal
to play and investigate?  Maybe, maybe not.  The reason why marital status
is questioned is if the potential owner is married, the shelter would like
to talk to the spouse and make sure they're interested in owning a ferret
too.  Remember, this animal will affect the entire household's life whether
they want it to or not.
 
Another wonderful advantage to a shelter is often times, you can get a
complete history of the animal.  If no medical records have been provided,
at least the shelter directors can let the potential owner know about the
prior experience the ferret has gone though.
 
And one final note, the shelter directors ARE under, to some degree,
scrutiny and have to face questions.  If they are not meeting safe
conditions for their boarders, someone will find out and they could have to
answer more questions.  Besides, if they loved the animals dearly, why
wouldn't they provide the best possible care?  The people interested in
adopting often ask questions about the shelter and the lifestyle each ferret
lives.  These directors must be ready to freely talk about THEIR personal
lives and schedules.
 
So, if you'd like to buy a ferret from a pet store, in my eyes there's
absolutely nothing wrong with that.  But just remember, there are many
fantastic ferrets desering good homes in our shelters.  Besides, shelter
adoption fees are more reasonable than pet store prices :-)
 
Thanks for reading this LONG post,
Ann
Ezra-Let's see how high I can climb this time!
Angel-There's got to be another set of keys I can hide....
Aimee-I'm so cute and I know it
Koda-Mommy, can I kiss you?
Rose-Where did all the trash cans go?
Jazzmine-Hey, socks taste pretty good!
[Posted in FML issue 2295]