On Thursday, 5 pet shop ferrets (mentioned in a previous post) were
delivered to our shelter by the pet shop owner.  As pet shop owners go, he
seemed like a decent guy who was concerned for the ferrets' welfare.  I am
only guessing, but I get the feeling he wanted to deliver them personally to
see where they were going.
 
These ferrets give new meaning to the term "biters" and we can fully
understand why the pet shop kept these babies in the back, away from
customers and their curious fingers.
 
For our shelter operator to be overwhelmed by their aggressiveness (I don't
want to say they are vicious, but...) tells me that there is a serious
problem here.  The ferrets lunge at the cage wire, biting and snapping when
one approaches.  They bite the spout and cap of the water bottle with a
vengeance.  One of them vigorously THUMPS its tail on the cage floor before
leaping at the approaching human, clamping hard on the cage wire.  They're
piranhas with fur!
 
They were put into a three-level condo cage to settle down before they could
be examined.  Initially, they couldn't even be examined to see if they were
boys or girls, let alone check for any type of tattooing in the ear.
Initial observation seems to indicate they are all females, presently known
only as, "The Wild Women."
 
I'd hate to think what would have happened if the pet shop owner was
uncaring and sold them anyway and they got into the hands of a neophyte
ferret owner.  We wonder what other unsuspecting pet shops may get, or may
have already gotten, some of these ferrets.
 
We're trying to track down where these ferrets came from.  So far all we
have is their "Certificate of Health" with a PO Box and Athens, PA on it.
We've been in contact with a few shelter operators & ferret lovers in
Pennsylvania, but so far nothing.  These do not appear to be Path Valley
ferrets, by the way.  The pet shop owner got them through a broker and
hasn't been able to tells us much so far.
 
If anyone knows of any breeders in that area, please contact me via e-mail.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club and Rescue, Inc.
*
* Visit our web site: http://www.gate.net/~mjanke
[Posted in FML issue 2231]