My wife and I were shopping for a new table for our new house when we
happened by a rather scuzzy-looking pet shop.  I couldn't resist and went
inside.  The shop was clearly a fish/reptile store with the usual array of
supplies and feeder-mice etc.  I noticed, however, a pathetic looking cage,
tucked away in a corner, looking almost abandoned and like trash.  Yet it
had paper under the wire floor and cat-litter in the litter boxes.  It
became clear that this was nothing more than a converted bird-cage.  Once I
was close enough, I saw something that made me snap: a tiny, just-weaned,
not-more-than-6-week-old, sable kit curled up in the cavernous ceramic food
bowl.
 
I am a professional with a career but I could not contain myself.  I'm also
a 300-pound ex-college football defensive lineman and despise people who
are cruel to animals.  My wife attempted to calm me as she saw my hands
clench and face twist in rage.  At this point, the owner of the flesh-shop
came over to ask if he could "help" us.  Saying nothing, I simply reached
out to the cage and ripped the door from its rusty hinges, leaving it
hanging by the lock- a lock he spent more on than food for this tiny
helpless baby.
 
As the "man" began to voice his objections stating that I owed him a new
cage, my wife tried to keep him away from me as I gently lifted this
beautiful little kit, trembling, from his hiding spot.  It was more than
clear that he was nothing more than a cheap attempt to get a few dollars
from someone infatuated with the fad of ferrets.
 
As I cradled the little kit in my hand, I smashed the cage with my other,
sending clay scattering and reducing the food-bowl to ceramic shards lodged
in my hand.  I turned to face the owner as he began shouting he was calling
the police and that I was going to jail for vandalism.  I shoved him
against the wall and told him if my wife wasn't there with me, I would have
probably beaten him to a pulp for being so abusive.  I then turned and
walked out as he was screaming into the phone that he needed the police.
 
Once the police arrived, I had already given the kit to my wife to take home
in my truck.  I offered to make restitution to the owner as well as pay him
for the kit.  Fortunately, along with an apology, the guy accepted.  The
police, however, still charged me with disorderly conduct and arrested me.
 
At my trial last week, the judge found me guilty and I was fined $550.
 
The kit was malnourished and very dehydrated but our vet, who is fantastic
with ferrets, got us back on track.  Our newest little rescue is doing well
and is showing no signs of the abusive hell he was in.  Nothing but TLC now.
 
It was worth every single minute and dime and getting a police record.  I
only regret that this fleshmerchant is still in business.
 
[KM]
[Posted in FML issue 2591]