Being from Pennsylvania myself, the story of Chompers brought back the
memory of an incident that nearly got my Pokey taken away back in the '80s.
Pokey was a rescue I took in (for the whole story, go to
http://members.tripod.com/~michaeljay/ferrets/pokey.htm).
I had him with me one beautiful summer day in the park, during a public
concert. One young boy became quite fascinated with Pokey, and asked if he
could take him a few yards away to show him to his parents. Keep in mind,
this is pre-Imrab3 and pre-FML; I had a limited knowledge about ferrets and
their relationship with the general public, and I mistakenly took for
granted that everyone else had the same common sense knowledge I had about
rabies and domestic pets. I told the kid it was ok, and be sure to hang on
to the leash. (Ok; I was naive; but I live in a small town...)
The kid came back with Pokey 20 minutes later, and had an irritated red mark
on his arm. He claimed Pokey had bit him, and wanted to know if he was
going to get rabies. Judging from the part of his arm that was red (inside
the elbow), it was very likely that Pokey chomped him there. But the kid
was really irritating this by scratching and digging at it. It became
obvious to me after a point that this kid had a few emotional problems, and
was looking for a way to stir things up and attract attention to himself.
The kid went away, but soon returned with his mother, who demanded to know
my name, address, and telephone number. I flatly refused to give her any
information about myself, tried to explain why Pokey couldn't have rabies,
and gave her the name of his vet and told her to call the vet if she needed
any more information. After stonewalling her for about 10 minutes, she gave
up and went on her way. I really believe she was just trying to humor her
kid, but I wasn't taking any chances. But it never dawned on me that
someone would view a ferret any differently than a puppy or a kitten, and
would think that a ferret scratch could be any more dangerous than a kitten
scratch. I never heard any more about the incident, and chalked it up to
learning experience.
There is basically no Animal Control in my part of the state (I learned this
once, when trying to report a possibly rabid feral cat), but I am concerned
about the state's policies regarding ferrets and quarantines, even in light
of the new compendium. Is there anything I can do in my area to make sure
my couch monkeys will be treated fairly if another Pokey situation should
occur? I still haven't heard exactly what Pennsylvania's stand is at the
moment.
Michael (Bluejay)
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre
minds. -- Albert Einstein
http://members.tripod.com/~michaeljay/index.html
Visit The Bridge Coffeehouse!
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/9636/index.htm
[Posted in FML issue 2207]
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