Hi all,
 
People brought up some absolutely correct points yesterday in response to
my post.  I think though I might have been misunderstood.  So here's some
more of my thoughts (in random order, which is also the way they come out
of my head):
 
- Yes, most (in some shelters, ALL) shelter ferrets are former pet store
babies.  At least here in New England they are.  Our shelters get very
few breeder ferrets (there have been some, but they are definitely a
minority).  I am not sure what the reason is, my guess is that if people
spend more for a ferret directly from a breeder and then spend the money
for spay/neuter, it's a bigger investment than the ferret they get for $99
and maybe they're less likely to surrender it.  But that's just a guess.
I just wanted to agree that yes, most shelter ferrets ARE pet store
ferrets.  Dropped off by people who either didn't know what they were
getting into and want OUT of ferret ownership, people whose lives have
changed to a degree that they can't or won't keep a ferret in their lives,
or people whose ferrets have become ill and they won't or can't foot the
bill or go the extra mile to give them TLC.  I don't know if anyone has
statistics on which reaosn is more common; in my experience it seems to
be a fairly even combo.  I have no argument with that fact.
 
- Mostly I was responding to the encouragement that people need to buy the
pet store babies up to rescue them.  I want to point out that there isn't
a finite supply of ferrets...buying them in the name of "rescue" just
means the store calls the farm for another shipment.  Seeing that kind of
urging always concerns me because it's a quick band-aid solution, "Oh,
these kits look lonely and need homes, I'm going to buy them and take them
home...hey, now there are MORE kits in the tank, guess I'll buy those...
hey, there are more ferrets in the store again!"
 
Of course breeder ferrets still get sick.  I don't have a breeder ferret
or anything other than MF pet store ferrets so can't comment on anything
other than the type of ferrets I have experience with.  I'm sure there
are folks out there who've had bad luck and bad experiences with breeder
ferrets therefore would never go that route again.  There are also people
who have had pet store ferrets live to ripe old ages with few health
troubles, and are pefectly content with that.  Nothing is 100% across the
board.
 
I wanted to share my experiences to illustrate why I PERSONALLY would
never choose to buy a pet-store kit again.
 
Also just as a "point to ponder" (because I've certainly been pondering
it since we lost Nikita), I estimate that between the ferret owners and
shelters that I know and talk with, I "know" at least 100-150 ferrets.
Perhaps 10-15 of those ferrets are NOT pet store ferrets.  Even in a group
that large, many of them people's own ferrets who get the best care, food,
environment, etc, there are only a handful of 8-9 year olds in a group
that large.
 
I think about that a lot.
 
-Heather in Massachusetts
 "Insulinoma" is a four-letter word
[Posted in FML issue 3765]