In case you didn't read who this is from - my name is Jason. I am Sammy's
dad and also Doris's and Buddy's dad. I have been a long-haul (48 states
and Canada) truck driver for 4 1/2 years. There is no one out there that
loves their "children of the fur" more that I! There are lots of you that
love your kids as much as I but it is not possible to love them more than I
do. Those people that have met me will testify to the love and care that I
give to my kids. As for those FML friends that I have that have been with
me as a support throughout Sammy's fight with ECE (which by the way is not
over BUT he IS winning!) they can also testify of the true love that I have
for Sammy and all of my "fur kids". Since I started driving truck I have
traveled around 600,000 miles. I have been in traveled through every state
in the nation, but Maine and Alaska. I have been through a lot of the
providences of Canada also. I give this information as to state my
credentials and to state why I feel I am justified in the following
response.
I was at first offended by your post until I realized that you most likely
are asking this question in a honest attempt to keep the ferrets best
interest in mind. As I am one that always tries to do everything, fuzzy
related, with keeping the ferrets best interests in mind, I decided to put
my emotions in my back pocket for now.
I ask, in advance, for all of your forgiveness for the next couple of
sarcastic sentence but I feel that it is necessary. You stated in the post
that the truck drivers wanted the ferrets "for company". What else would
you want a ferret for???? Food??? Fur??? Money??? (Please note: In this
post I am leaving out the other use of ferrets in hunting outside the USA.
That is a topic not relevant to THIS specific topic.) Of course they want
them for company! If you are not keeping your ferret company and your
ferret not keeping you company then, I feel, you are NEGLECTING your ferret!
There are multiple studies that have shown that animals, kept as a
companion, have a major effect on the mental, physical, and emotional health
of the person that is charged with their care. So are you saying that you
want all truck drivers to DIE??? That you want them to be emotionally and
physically distraught??? [Of course not, I was just once again using some
well placed sarcasm to show that pets are companions and companions, by
definition, "keep you company".] So your point about them wanting ferrets
"to keep them company" is a unfounded, and some might even say a ridiculous,
concern.
Now am I saying that truck drivers are the perfect people to adopt ferrets?
Definitely not. As any shelter knows, there is not a group that is a
"perfect" group to adopt to. I feel that I am a AWESOME parent! [Ouch,
that hurt. I just strained my arm when I patted myself on the back.
<grin>] Why am I a awesome parent? Because everything that I do revolves
around them. If anyone want to know specifics please E-Mail me and I will
be happy to talk with you.
As I have spoken with many shelter Mom's and Dad's, the majority of them
have a real strict criteria that the person must meet in order to adopt. I
feel that is a GREAT idea. One shelter that I am familiar with is the MMoMM
shelter in Virginia run by Dayna Frazier. When someone wants to adopt they
are given the initial interview. At that interview they are giving the
ferret FAQ and a list of must have's (a cage of sufficient size, excellent
food for the ferret {TF, IAMS kitten, or the like}, ferret safe toys,
etc...) They then meet some of the fuzzies and then they go home to study
and read the FAQ and to buy the necessary items. Then they have a second
interview in which they must be able to answer a lot of questions that are
about the FAQ. She also quizzes them on ferret proofing their home. If
they pass this interview then they are told to ferret proof their home and
buy the necessary items for the ferret so when he / she comes home they will
be ready for him or her. After they have done this then they call Dayna and
she goes to their home and goes through it with the person just to make sure
that everything is going to be safe for the ferret and to answer any
questions that the person might have. Then when Dayna is satisfied the
person comes to the shelter and "plays with the ferrets" to find that one
ferret that decided that they want to go home with this person. If their is
not a "bond" that takes place (and those of you that have that special bond
know what I am referring to) then they go home without a ferret. Then when
a new ferret comes into the shelter they are called and come to visit that
ferret, and this continues until a ferret is found that has a bond with that
person. Then that person and the ferret leave to dook happily ever after.
At first I thought that this might be a little extreme until she mentioned
to me that the people that she adopts to like this method because they don't
want a ferret that is not going to bond to them either.
If you use a similar method to adopt out ferrets to people, whether they be
truck drivers or not, the ferrets should be happy.
There are some unique concerns through that must be addressed when adopting
ferrets out to people who travel with their ferrets. I will address these
concerns in my next post.
[Posted in FML issue 2270]
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