Continuing to debate what Chris and Kristine should have done will do
little to improve things - that situation is over and done with.  As
Sukie pointed out yesterday, what is needed is for all of us to look to
the future, and find ways to do things better.
 
Trusted relationships between shelters, Animal Control, and the ferret
community will not happen overnight.  You can't wait for an emergency
to try to establish them.  The time to start working on them is now.
 
I wrote about the husky club my mother was in, and the relationship it
had with the local shelters and Animal Control.  By the time my mother
joined that club, the relationships were already established, but I am
sure they were years in the making.  They probably started with club
members contacting the shelters and asking to be informed when huskies,
or husky mix dogs were in the shelters and available for adoption, so
that they could refer potential adopters.  From there, it may have grown
by members offering pamphlets the shelter could give to adopters that
explained the needs and care of huskies.  As the shelters learned that
the club members were a useful resource, they probably called on them
more and more for assistance.  What started small, grew and grew into a
relationship that helped both the shelters and the husky dogs that got
turned into them for care.  And that is what we need to start doing now,
so that somewhere down the road we can have similar setups with our local
Animal Control and animal shelters.
 
We also need to work to change laws in our state to grant ferrets at
least the same rights and protections that are in place for dogs and
cats, as many states currently do not provide even that for ferrets.  In
states with lax cruelty laws, we need to work with other animal groups to
get stronger laws enacted.  These are positive things we can all work on
that will benefit all ferrets.  It won't happen overnight, but it is
worth the effort, and can be accomplished.  However, sitting around and
complaining and saying it won't work will get us nowhere.  Neither will
taking steps to circumvent the system produce any positive results in the
long run.  Being confrontational isn't going to help - being cooperative
is.
 
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit  http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom
[Posted in FML issue 3930]