Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a legend known as Sasquatch, but
since that's difficult to say and to spell, many refer to him as "Big
Foot."  However, so that no one will confuse him with our very own BIG,
I'll refer to him as BF.
 
Now, BF has been around for thousands of years, much longer than any other
forest critter.  Legend has it that BF wanted a pet of his own and he
tried playing with the weasel.  However, the weasel played a bit too rough
with his teeth and so BF, who had all of the knowledge in the universe
because he had been around for so long, decided to combine some of the
gentleness of the rabbit, with the wildness of the weasel.  And he created
the ferret.  This turned out to be a great pet, as the ferret had just
enough of the bunny in him to become a sweet animal like the rabbit.
However, it didn't turn out so well for the rabbit, because the ferret
also had a sweet tooth, (but that's another story.)
 
The BF is a solitary animal, so there's no chance that he came in from the
woods to consult with anyone.  He just arrived at his own conclusions and
left notes hanging on various trees in the forest until a lot of people
passed by and thought that this aged animal was an all knowing guru.
 
Batman said: "Before they pass something along they can VERIFY what
they have been told.  It unmasks the Masked Mouth -- or at least the
falsehoods -- most of the time!" Batman spoke the truth when he muttered
those words.  But even though BF does receive VERIFICTION when challenged
by Batman.  BF takes the proof back to his cave and tries to destroy the
evidence.  However, BF is so old that he was never trained on the current
technology and so doesn't seem to realize that there's proof everywhere,
if he were only to open his eyes and ears and learn.
 
And Sukie sayeth:
>That is with 20 years of ferrets from an assortment of places.  Most from
>anywhere make it to late in the 7th year into middle of the 8th year .
 
No disagreement here.  I was ONLY addressing the point of the underage
babies.  There is a person here in the Seattle area, on Mercer Island,
whom I have no respect for at all (is that enough hints).  However, I've
run into numerous ferrets that he bred who have lived pretty active lives
into 10 & 11 years of age.  Of course, in general they're also less docile
than the MF ferrets, but if you're only interested in longevity, you might
want to contact him.
 
>I can't speak for your experiences and you cant' (sic) speak for mine.
>Those are mine and that's the plain and simple fact of the matter,
>whether it pleases you or not.
 
Since that was precisely MY point, it PLEASES me very much!!  You cannot
speak for the experiences of those of us who see MF ferrets younger than
6 weeks in pet stores.  I can absolutely understand that you may never
have seen ferret babies that age in your local pet stores, but I have.
 
Denise Hebert [log in to unmask] wrote:
>But Sandi, don't bash Sukie because you've had problems with MF.
 
What an interesting conclusion.  Sukie claims that there are no ferrets
under 6 weeks of age in pet stores and calls those of us who know that
there, are liars (oh, oops, I guess that was Batman who said that).  I
personally have not had any dealings with MF that could be considered
problems.  However, I do have a problem with someone who implies that
s/he is the only one who knows "facts" and constantly attempts to
discredit others.
 
I put a couple of MF Health Certificates on line, if you're interested.
 
The first two certificates show that MF had already neutered and
descented, ferrets who were between 5 weeks 6 days old and 6 weeks 5 days
old.  Three each were shipped 5 days later to two different petco stores.
They arrive here in Seattle at Seatac, where they are picked up and
delivered to the individual stores.  There is NO distributor in between
MF and Petco.
http://blrrfh.brinkster.net/TestSite/MFCertificate.jpg
 
The next certificate shows that 24 ferrets between the ages of 5 weeks 6
days old and 6 weeks 5 days old were shipped to a DISTRIBUTOR, Hinestein
Exotic Pets in Oregon.  From there, some of these ferrets were sent to a
pet store in Kirkland, Washington (not Petco).
http://blrrfh.brinkster.net/TestSite/MFCertificates.jpg
 
The next two are autopsy reports from one of the four six week old ferrets
who died after being shipped to petco. The autopsy report states that the
ferret is appx. 6 weeks old and had been at the store for 1 week. If the
images come up small, my computer let me double click to enlarge them.
 
http://blrrfh.brinkster.net/TestSite/autopsy report pg 1.gif
http://blrrfh.brinkster.net/TestSite/autopsy report pg 2.gif
 
Truth is in the eye of the beholder???  So behold.....
 
Sandi
 
Best Little Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House
a non-profit animal shelter
14325 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98125
(206)365-9105
Open 7 days/week or visit our on-line store at:
http://www.rabbitrodentferret.org
[Posted in FML issue 3795]