Nobody ever said that Meow Mix was ever "good" for ferrets.  Nobody said
anything we did in the past was "correct", nor that what we are doing
today is necessarily "correct".  That line of discussion is just an
examination of the differences in ferreting of yesteryear compared to
today.  Why?  Because it is bewildering that there are ferrets who lived
so long doing all "the wrong things" and that babies often die so young
today doing all "the right things".  So we compare the two to look for
clues ... sometimes those clues will lead to a whole tangent of different
thought, a creative thought we had not yet had on this subject.  That
way we are not too quick to assume everything we are doing today is
absolutely the best way, and also that the genetics today are good or
bad.  Besides, if you had ferrets of yesteryear you would understand the
irony of it all.  You would also be nostalgic for a more innocent time in
ferreting, but also be relieved to have all the education of today.  I
accept that posters warning though, as she has a valid point.  We must be
careful to not be misunderstood.  So that post, although, misdirected,
was very helpful.  I commend Sukie for seeing the positiveness in that
post, when I was weak enough to see so much misunderstanding in it.
 
Nobody ever said to go buy pet store ferrets, or to be a collector and
try and save 'em all thereby putting all involved in jeopardy.  It was
never stated by anybody.  You missed Kat's whole point, and that is
"don't be quick to judge others" and "don't close doors to things
prematurely".  There are some people that are so judgmental, they would
look at someone who has devoted their expenses and lives to giving
elderly rescues a home, just because they fell in love or thought it
"right" to buy one specific ferret.  There are people that extreme in
their thought ... it's not that I'm saying that is wrong to believe that,
I'm saying its "might" be wrong to act on it and attack others rather
than talk it out constructively.  We should be supporting each other,
inspiring each other to keep up doing the things that we are doing
right, and trading ideas.  Nothing more.
 
Ferrets do "speak to you".  We have Smoking Toady from NJ, people drove
for days to help transport him to us, even when there were adoptees
closer.  But there was reason for it, that is personal to me.  Very
generous people here did not question it.  They helped a ferret get a
home pure and simple.  The year before, I saw a tiny fragile ferret in a
store.  I tried for three days to get the store to do better by her and I
was not satisified.  I worried about her future most of all and the kind
of person that would buy her.  My husband got her and surprised me one
day with her at home.  Most members here will remember as I watched in
horror as she fought for her dignity in taking her last breaths to clean
the urine that soiled onto her as she lie dying at only 10 months old.
If another person had bought her a) they would have never known she was
deaf and therefore mistreated her when she didn't "listen" (there are no
ferret knowledgeable people where I live), b) would have been too rough
as she was so fragile, and c) they would have never recognized a very
rare disease that ravaged her body and she would have suffered a hideous
death (even 3 vets did not recognize this disease... an FML'er did and
called me via phone... necropsy confirmed the case).  Because of that
FML'er she only suffered a couple days.  And she did not die alone.
Others can confirm that I "felt" something was wrong or different with
her from the day I saw her, and thank God I treated each day like it was
the last.
 
Before I end this, I will not engage in any debates about pet stores or
rescues, past or present ideas about ferreting, collectors, the like.  I
don't fanatically take any positions.  So I can't.  Even if I did, I
would never preach to someone that their opinion didn't have some sort of
merit in it.  This is an open forum ...to trade ideas and opinions, and
to learn from them.  We are already very limited to ideas here because
hundreds of people are fearful to post because they "ferret" a different
way than outspoken posters or have better things to do in life than to
bicker on the interenet unconstructively.  This is an international list.
I'd like very much to see those other ideas from other countries, but the
harshness on this forum keeps them as lurkers.  And that is so
counterproductive and against the whole spirit in which this list was
created for.
 
Wolfy
 
Wolfy's site has MOVED to:
http://wolfysluv.jacksnet.com/
[Posted in FML issue 3961]