Dear All,

The phone rang at 7:45am yesterday. I hadn't even had my first cup of
coffee. I need coffee in the morning, a whole pot of it! So, I look at
the caller id and it's Anne Arundel Co Animal Control. Oh good grief! I
pick up the phone and without even saying "hello", I say, "You'd better
not be calling me to come pick up ferrets!" You see, I like to operate
my shelter with a max of 40, and we were already up to 57. So I hear
laughing on the other end of the phone, and the woman, Sherri, says
to me, "Barb, we did a bust last nite on a collector, and we have 15
ferrets. They were all living in a pen in this roach infested house.
They're in bad shape." My response, "I'll be there to get them".

I get there and am briefed about the situation. Seems a Sheriff was
at a Laurel Maryland residence to serve a summons, and saw animals,
lots of them, and filth and the stench that goes with a house full of
animals uncared for. The Sheriff then called in Animal Control. Seems
they intervened on a couple doing a scam for money. They confessed to
searching Craigslist, Free Cycle, Petfinder and local papers for free
or cheap ferrets, and other animals. They would get them, and then
re-post them for sale. Greed, this is all about some nasty, inhumane
folks trying to make a buck.

We then go to the kennel area to load up the ferrets, and it was
emotional for me. Nearly all of these ferrets had obviously been
starved. There was one, year old boy that wasn't skin and bones. So
often in rescue the ferrets look fine, and that's because their fur
can give the appearance of being healthy. In this case, they were
severely malnourished insomuch as most of them had rib cages showing,
their eyes were sunken. They were unable to walk, with most having
nails so long they curled under.

Angered, I asked if charges were made against the couple, and I was
told no. I understood the explanation; It simply wouldn't have been a
case that the States Attorney could have won. The woman and man could
swear that they got these animals in this condition, and there were no
witnesses to tesify otherwise.

OK, so I'm now very angry, and the legal side of my brain was working
overtime. I asked why they were not charged with operating an illegal
unlicensed pet store in the State of Md. That suggestion seemed to have
given the officer an "AHA" moment. He then said that they had the right
to do a followup, and that they would.

In essence, what was accomplished was that the officers removed from
the property all animals that were not re-saleable, in general, really
had no value to the perps. I have no doubt that this couple felt great
about it, and immediately went back to searching the free lists for
more victims. Greed, this was all about greed.

It's not just my shelter, Rocky's, that's overwhelmed here in Maryland,
Claudia (Oxford) and Nancy (The Ferret Inn) are too. We're in no
position to be contacting these lists daily and taking in the free
ferrets. Not being able to save the world is a hard pill to swallow.

With shelters full, and folks put on waiting lists, I understand why
folks are listing their unwanted pets on these sites. I just wished
that they all knew the possibilities, as I just experienced. These
ferrets I have are the survivors. I have no doubt that many died
before them.

Thanks to volunteers Nikki and Jason for answering my 911 call for
help. They met me back at the farm and we managed to assess, name and
get these kids into comfort and full food bowls. There is one one year
old boy, and the rest range from 2.5 - 6 years. If you have a spot in
your heart for older needy kids, please send me an adoption
application.

Here are some pics of these ferrets, but holding them is truly more
revealing than the pics.

<http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v215/Alphajill/Anne%20Arundel%20Co%20Sept%2008/>

[Moderator's note: Seems like a password is required. BIG]

Thanks to the ever vigil corporate angel of all shelters, Totally
Ferret. Upon hearing about these kids they immediately shipped out
some older formula for them. Bless you April and Liz, and all the
good folks at TF!

I don't know what we can do to stop greedy collectors like this. If
you have the time, check these lists and warn those folks about scams
like this, and ask them to do a home inspection before giving away
their pets to strangers for free.

Oh, one more thing; The perps last name is Dennis and they live in
Laurel, MD. Go and warn the world! er, ok, let's just start with
Maryland.

Affectionately,
Barb Clay
Dir of Shelter Affairs for Rocky's
www.rockysferrets.com

OKTOBERFEST October 18th - Y'all Come
http://rockysferrets.com/events/of/oktoberfest.html

[Posted in FML 6104]