Hi everyone!
i have been following the Anti-Petco campaign, and i would like to add some
thoughts of mine.  Wether Petco sells ferrets or not, is'nt Marshall Farms
and other breeders still going to breed and sell ferrets?  and where will
they be sold?  i agree that nothing makes you more angry than ignorance when
it comes to animals, and they have to suffer becouse of it.  but it seems
to me than rather than fighting Petco and other Pet Stores that want to
sell ferrets, why not cooperate with them in raising the awareness and
educating people in the responsabilities of ferret owning.
 
posting adds in PetMagazines and other papers some wich are free, grocery
stores advicing people about becoming a responsible ferret owner.  and the
WORK involved.  i also believe it would help getting ferrets legalized in
some states, i often go to a Petco nearby that sell ferrets, these ferrets
are fortunate in the sense that the guy in charge of the ferrets is a ferret
owner himself and involved in Shelter activities, as soon as i aproached the
ferrets someone was there to talk to me, there was a lock on the opening to
prevent people from just reaching in, the guy in charge whose name is Will
explained about ferrets and adviced to considder before buying one, as they
were not like hamsters, and are high mainteinance animals etc.  he
personally makes sure they get their shots, he gives them baths (every 10
days), plays and handle every single one of them several times a day.
nobody buys a ferret there without being informed about their needs.  i
realize this store is unlike many others, but how many of us feel that we
have learned mostly throug experience with ferrets (not that i have so much
of that) and werent dogs cats and other pets "exotic" at one time before a
lot of people started owning them?  i am all for educating educating and
educating, and this list is worth everymembers weight in GOLD.  i have
learned so much here, and i believe anyone can learn.
 
anyway this is just my opinion.  and i am no expert, Truls and Liza came
in to my life only less than a year ago, i believe i saved them both in a
way, Liza being such a feisty biter could have ended up in a shelter or
neglected, and Truls i believe was so young he did'nt eat on his own (i had
to syringe feed) and was dehydrated when i took him home, i dont think
anyone noticed since it was a large group of kits, but everytime i see a
ferret at a petstore, i wonder where they will end up, and think about when
i brought my babies home.  but i knew nothing of ferrets, and had only seen
pictures of them a few times.  and now i am DEVOTED to them, why should we
assume the worst?
 
Sincerely
Josephine Trulsie and Liza Lee
[Posted in FML issue 2410]