Well, I learned my lesson last year in checking out apartments.  So I was
prepared for it this time.
 
The correct question to ask is NOT "Do you allow ferrets?"  You must ask
"What is your pet policy?"  When they ask "Well, what kind of pets do you
have?" that kind of sets them up for you saying "I have a rottweiler, you
know."  But when you say "Oh I just have ferrets", you'll get much more
positive results.
 
I was flabbergasted to find that most places I went (about 15-20 in all)
had a "NoPet" policy but would allow cats.  But when I asked the above
question, they usually said "Oh, caged pets are OK." Yee-haa!
 
There was only one problem complex.  The apartment was perfect.  We loved
everything about it.  We were just about to say "We'll take that 2-bedroom,
second level" when I blurted out "What is your pet policy?"
 
The lady sat up and raised her eyebrows.  "What kind of pet do you have?" I
told her we had ferrets.  And she replied that ferrets were not allowed!
 
When I asked why, she told me this ridiculous story about a woman that had
some kind of large dog that attacked and killed a small child.  The mother
sued the apartment complex and won a multi-million dollar lawsuit.  So the
complex changed their pet policy.  Cats OK, Dogs OK in some buildings, NO
rotties, dobies, huskies, shepherds, pit bulls, etc.  NO ferrets.
 
Um, hello?  Can someone explain that logic?  The woman told me that "if the
ferrets got out, they might scare a neighbor or something."
 
I'm sorry, I am laughing so hard right now that I can hardly type.  I can
really see how 1-1/2 pound Noel can scare the beejeezuz out of someone.
 
Needless to say, we immediately bolted out of that place.
 
The LAST place we checked (isn't that always the way?) looked very
promising.  When I asked about pets, the woman said "Well, gosh, we've
never had ferrets before.  I'll have to call the manager."  The manager
wasn't available while we were there, so I left the security deposit to
show how serious we were about taking the apartment.  Apparently it worked,
because they called about an hour later and said ferrets were fine!
Awesome!
 
So we'll have a gorgeous new apartment (with a washer & dryer for washing
ferret clothes!) that allows the little boogers, right next to a drop-in
for a mountain biking trail, in a beautiful, scenic area away from the
city.  I couldn't be happier.  Anyone want to help us move? :-)
===
Aileen & the herd
Slinky, Gizmo, Kyle, Noel, & Sandy
 
"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
 
"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a
 habit."
[Posted in FML issue 2803]