[Moderator's note: Well, this is bound to be controversial, but since it's
ferret-related and doesn't appear to violate guidelines, it gets posted.
Perosnally, I'm not sure there is enough information right now to decided
things either way.  BIG]
 
This is an appeal to those generous people who may have been scammed by the
owner of the Spokane, Washington, ferret shelter/ferret breeding farm, where
some numbers of ferrets were murdered and savaged.
 
The developments in this case have exonerated the initial suspect.
Circumstantial evidence is pointing ever more precisely to the owner of the
shelter, a Ms. Jeannie Smith, as the perpetrator of this animal cruelty.
 
Please be informed that no person has as yet been proven guilty.  What is
presented herein is not to be taken as a statement that any one (or more)
person is guilty of the charges made in this case.
 
Apparently some $7,000-plus and other items were collected by the owner, Ms.
Smith, who solicited contributors throughout the nation and perhaps other
places as well.  I am dumbfounded that help for this appeal should come to
me in view of the fact that I've become involved just recently in attempting
to understand the alleged illegal solicitation/collection of funds at the
Seattle ferret show.
 
I sincerely hope that my wearing a German World War 1 steel helmet with two
pineapple fragmentation hand grenades attached (p/o of my uniform at the
Ferret Frolics/Olympics) has not catapulted me into the mode of the Ferret
Gestapo!
 
You may not agree with me, and that's just fine, but I can't help but
believe that we appear to be soft touches for solicitors who have learned to
take advantage of our deep affection for all ferrets, and not just our own.
 
Following is an email to me from the organization Progressive Animal Welfare
Society, PAWS, of Lynnwood, Washington.  I submit it as received.  Please
read it with the knowledge that I heartily endorse it and hope that you will
respond as requested.
 
The purpose of this posting is to inform such contributors that they may
possibly recover their donations (or portions thereof) by acting in accord
with the included letter following:
 
                ATTENTION FERRET FANS!
 
The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is alarmed by recent
developments in the case of the November 1997 ferret "massacre" in Spokane.
The Spokane County Prosecutor+s Office has dropped criminal charges against
a Spokane man accused of slaughtering dozens of ferrets, after the ferrets+
guardian failed a lie-detector test.  An article that appeared in the
Spokesman Review on March 26, 1998 states that the alleged victim might
actually have been the perpetrator of the crime.  Jean Smith, a ferret
breeder, accused 20-year-old Lance Seurer of stabbing her ferrets to death
with a syringe in November.  Smith solicited help from animal advocates
across the globe, who generously contributed more than $7,000 to her cause.
According to the article, police found discrepencies in Smith+s accounts of
the crime and Smith showed a 72 percent "likelihood of deception" on a
polygraph test.
 
PAWS is attempting to make contact with the individuals who may had
contributed money or supplies to Jean Smith.  Please notify the Spokane
Prosecuting Attorney+s Office and PAWS with any information pertaining to a
donation to Ms. Smith+s ferret recovery fund.
 
Attn. Michelle Lombardi
Spokane Prosecuting Attorney+s Office
1100 West Mallon
Spokane, WA 99260-0270
Phone: (509)456-3662
Fax: (509)625-3409
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
Please also send a copy of your response to:
 
Attn. Stephanie Bell
PAWS
PO Box 1037
Lynnwood, WA 98046
Phone: (425)787-2500 ext. 812
Fax: (425)742-5711
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2267]