To quote Laura:
>....I've never heard of a SHELTER that breeds.  And breeding dogs
>as well when there's packed shelters full of dogs waiting for a home?
>And she thinks that taking in ferrets offsets the breeding of dogs and
>more ferrets?  Actually they cancel eachother out - so in a sense,
>you're doing nothing.
 
Actually, there are NUMEROUS shelters who also breed.  Tiny Prints is
just one of many.  Breeders breed for many reasons.  We breed to improve
the quality of ferrets and to better the breed, this includes: better
structure, better muscle and body mass, intelligence, temperament and
personality, healthier and happier ferrets who live longer lives and with
fewer health problems.  Breeders breed to weed out poor genetics and to
promote healthier, stronger ferrets.  Here are some of the shelters who
also breed in the Pacific NW: Ferret Haven of Spokane/Wild Wannabe
Weasels, Ferret Rescue of North Idaho/Den of Thieves and Oregon Ferret
Shelter.  You also have many breeders who either heavily participate,
volunteer or run a shelter by themselves or with partners: Novel
Beginnings/Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue, Planned Ferrethood/Pennsylvania
Ferret Rescue, Semper Fi Ferrets/Pennsylvania Ferret Club, Ferret Friends
of Pittsburgh/Three Rivers Ferret Council, Scarlett's Happy Dookers/HOFA,
Firestorm Ferrets/HOFA, West Valley Wuzzles... just to name a few.  I'm
sure now this doesn't sound like quite an oddity and now you can say
that you've heard of a shelter that also breeds and the reasons why.
And BTW, there are also ferret breeders who have bred dogs or who are
still breeding dogs: Ravensnest Ferrets, TinyPrints, Semper Fi Ferrets
(certified trainer and behaviorist) and Tawelfan Ferretry to name a few.
NOW, you can have your facts straight :)
 
Sara Hamilton
Leizel's Weasels
www.leizelsweasels.com
"Home of the 2003 Ferret of the Year-JBF's Isabella of LW"
[Posted in FML issue 5004]