>Date:    Mon, 17 Jan 2000 09:12:31 -0600
>Subject: ferret visiting school
>I read Renee's recent post ,re: taking her Kiwi to school to visit the
>kids.... .It doesn't take a direct sneeze; a petting hand will do
>just fine to transmit those germs to your ferret.
 
Hi Lizzi,
Thank you for your note of concern and reminder that ferrets are, indeed,
suseptible to "cooties" and germs.
 
>Secondly, and just as important: I have been afraid that the children
>would be bitten by the magical *ferret bug*, and convince their parents
>to buy them one; if not now, at a later date.
 
And MAYBE they'll adopt from a shelter!  I am always careful to tell people
(and kids) that there are many ferret shelters out there full of wonderful
ferrets waiting for a good, stable home.  Of course, I realize that your
issue isn't from *where* they obtain a ferret but just the fact that they
may get one at all.
 
>It is no secret that many of the shelter babies were purchased because
>they were *so cute*, then the novelty wears off, and the little ferret's
>life becomes a sad and lonely one..  (worse yet, outright neglect or
>abuse).
 
Yes, I agree that is a terrible turn of events.  When parents buy/adopt a
ferret "for a child", it is, ultimately the repsonsibility of the grown-ups
to make sure that the ferret is cared for properly, to educate their
children that the ferret (or cat, or dog, or goldfish, or salamander) is a
*living* feeling creature that relies on them for it's very life.  To this
end, it is my hope that the parents would have the foresight to understand
that the ferret is ultimately the responsibility of the parents and that
they had better be prepared to pick up the ball when necessary and also to
encourage (demand) that the child take care of the ferret.  I feel that
when a parent(s) turns in a ferret that was "supposed to be little
Bobby's", those parent(s) have done a HUGE disservice to their child as
well as the ferret.  Firstly, they have demonstrated that pets are
dispensible and disposable.  Secondly.... ah... I am about to go on a
tangent about MY parenting practice that *disallows* "finding a new home"
for an animal.  My near-tangent doesn't address your concerns...
 
I guess sometimes I forget "reality" because I have RESPONSIBLE children
and 5 cats, 5 ferrets, 3 foster kittens, and a guinea pig.  My 9 year old
daughter and I volunteer regularly at the local animal shelter.  From the
day they were born, my children have been taught that our animals aren't
"pets"; they are members of our family who not only WILL live with us until
they pass away but they will be cherished, cared for, loved, etc every day
of their lives.  (One day my daughter told me, "Faith wants to get rid of
her cat because it's not a kitten anymore!  I can't believe that!!  I love
MY cat more everyday!  I can't imagine how much I am going to love him in
another 10 years!!")
 
In our home, we don't OWN our pets... we are their *guardians* and that
means we must guard them from harm, pain, hunger, thirst, disease, unclean
conditions, etc.
 
There has been an ongoing thread about the word "OWN" and what it means.  I
prefer the word "guardian".  In my mind, *own* is something one does with
inanimate objects.
 
>Renee, you sound like the kind of good person that will keep your ears
>open for any new *ferret owners* at your school.  Maybe your kids can help
>there, and give out your number if new fert owners have any questions
>following the possible purchase of one.  I guess I feel that if you open a
>can of worms, you should be around to eat the dirt, also.  Put your name
>out for anyone who might need help; whether it be on proper care, or what
>to do with the little ferret that they might decide *doesn't work out*.
 
I neglected to mention that I *did* hand out a brief informational that I
assembled.  It does not rave about how absolutely wonderful ferrets are but
rather explains the care they require in REAL terms.  The back page gives
URLs for Ferret Central, the FML addy, as well as my home phone number and
e-mail.  The teacher also hung it up in her classroom.  As a matter of
fact, I will post the content of the handout on the FML for scrutiny.
 
>Please don't take this personally, Renee, as you sound like a wonderful
>Mom,
 
I am!  ;-)
 
>I feel my concerns are valid.
 
As do I.  But I also don't think we can "hide" our ferrets at home for fear
that someone is going to see one, think "how cute!", adopt one, and not
be a good home.  As ferrets guardians, I feel it is our responsibility to
educate people (and children) about proper care.  Maybe one of those
children went home and said, "Hey, mom, a lady came in to our class today
and SHE said that Bubba shouldn't live in an aquarium with cedar shavings.
She gave me this paper about how to take care of ferrets" -or- "the lady
said that there is a great place on the internet to learn about ferrets..."
 
>Because I care, Lizzi in Colorado
 
Because I do, too! -- :-)  Renee in Maine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking for some ferret people in your area?  Then check out the
                                       FML Where List at:
    http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/3157/where.html
                                        *****************
                         And the Shelter/Rescue and Club List at:
   http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/3157/where2.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Posted in FML issue 2933]