Last week (issue #2159) I posted the story of the 4 pet shops ferrets turned
over to the North Coast Ferret Shelter after a bite incident.  When the
owner returned from vacation, she denied that the man who signed the release
had any authority to do so, and went to the police to file a theft report.
Incidently, the man, Keith, had told us he was purchasing the store in a
couple weeks, which Judy, the owner, hotly denied.
 
On Thursday, the Prosecutor's office had given us til 4:30 pm to turn over
the ferrets or they would indite us.  I spent the day unsuccessfully trying
to call the pet shop to offer to purchase the ferrets at wholesale cost.  At
4:30 pm the ferrets were still with us.
 
The update:
 
I finally was able to reach the owner at her home that evening.  Before I
could get to the offer, Judy and her husband began to berate me and call me
a thief.  When I said it was not theft because Keith had signed a release,
she reiterated that he had no authority to do so.  I asked if she wanted to
hear my suggestion to resolve the issue.  She said no.
 
We spent Friday waiting for the police to show up at the door, but nothing
happened.
 
Saturday, we had a great surprise: we discovered that the reason I could not
get through on the telephone was that the store was under new ownership,
with a new name and phone number!!  It turns out Keith had bought the store
after all, just one week after the supposed "theft".
 
Lisa, our wonderful attorney, spoke with the Prosecutor's office this
morning.  (Friday morning she had faxed various supporting documents to
their office.) Turns out they had found out about the change in ownership
about a week ago.  In any case, they apparently still haven't decided if
they will pursue or not.
 
So we continue to wait. What a way to spend the holidays!
 
Linda Iroff
North Coast Ferret Shelter
http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html
[Posted in FML issue 2163]