1.My reply to Sara's friend is Simple: I HAVE apologized to Sara for
feeling compelled to speak out in response to her gossip concerning GCFA
that she has once again put on the FML.  And I am sorry that I do not
write well enough to gently convey the injustice of those remarks in a
way that all could understand.  I wrote: I "sincerely apologize."
 
There is not a bone in my body that does not mean that.
 
2.When I wrote something nice about GCFA around the time of a ferret show
a few years back, Sara wrote to me.  She wrote, apparently, to gossip
negatively about GCFA.
 
You know what?
 
* I did not know it was gossip.  I had tried reaching GCFA by phone to
adopt and volunteer 7 or maybe 9 years ago, and no one called back.  The
plight of the shelter never dawned on me, as I had never been to a
shelter at the time of those calls.  And so I blindly and ignorantly
believed the words that the respected owner of a ferret shelter
specifically E-mailed to me which denegrated GCFA.*
 
3.  The effects of bashing GCFA
 
For all this time, because of Sara's remarks I took as truth, I donated
to many causes.  Many.  I donated to several shelters also.  I gave no
further thought of donating much to GCFA, let alone volunteering...
because I BELIEVED HER WORDS as truth.
 
It was not until two people I know had volunteered at GCFA for several
years told me what GCFA was REALLY like--and what the people there are
Really like-- that I thought of donating or volunteering there at all.
 
GCFA lost easily a thousand dollars from me during these many months: all
because I believed Sara's gossip. They lost a volunteer for that time.It
would only have been once every 3 or 4 weeks. But Heh? GCFA would love to
find someone like that. Now, because of my mother, I cannot.
 
I truly cannot imagine how many thousands of dollars or hours of
volunteering this bashing has cost GCFA.  Each side believes a totally
different siutation.  The difference is that GCFA does not broadcast the
terrible interaction that they experienced.  They only told me because of
a letter I recieved that included-once again-this same gossip.
 
The difference is that it is not just this incident that is being used to
smear GCFA.  It is other things.  If one had never been to this shelter-
one would believe GCFA was not a good shelter, according to the gossip
Sara spreads, and spreads, and spreads.
 
The difference is that even after several years have passed-Sara cannot
stop despoiling the reputation of GCFA.  The difference is that even
after Sara knows another shelter has kindly come and taken 20 shelter
ferrets, she STILL has to bash GCFA about her perceived experience.
 
Several of the shelters that were going to consider helping GCFA wrote me
of their concerns.  Sara's gossip has apparently reached out of state,
and impacted innocent lives of countless ferrets in ways none of us will
ever be able to determine..or surmount.
 
After Sept. 11th, many have lost their jobs.  I lost my retirement funds
for the most part.  People donated for the year to the victims of Sept.
11th.  Shelters of all kinds have felt keenly the difference.
 
I do not believe that it will ever be possible to make up monetarily now
for the defacing of GCFA.  Not in this economy.  And not possible to
undue the damage done--because of the injury done to individual ferrets
at the shelter.
 
I write so poorly, I feel frustration right now.  Do you understand what
I am saying?
[Posted in FML issue 3887]