Get rid of--The words I detest the most when describing giving up a pet.
I received a call today from a friend who knows I have a ferret.  Someone
at work has to "get rid of" their ferret.  The ferret wasn't getting
enough attention.  Seems they have two cats and a dog.  I said the ferret
could get enough attention if they wanted to give him attention.  I read
him the riot act about pets not being disposable and that when you get a
pet you make a commitment.  He said the kids love the ferret.  Then why
isn't he getting enough attention and what type of parent teaches a child
that it's o.k. to trade one pet for another?  I told my friend the
situation could be worked out if they wanted to make it work.  Otherwise
to advertise the ferret for a price and try to find a responsible home,
not another disposable one.  I wish I could have taken the ferret, but my
financial situation is that I can only afford proper vet care for one, so
I limit myself to one.  He also mentioned that the ferret came from a
breeder in another town.  That got me even more mad, because there are
way too many ferrets winding up in the CT shelter because of all the
Petcos.  I told him the shelter would only advise to try to find a home
on their own, as the shelter has a limit of how many ferrets can be cared
for.  We used to take every ferret, but have to be more discriminating,
and offer to send people a brochure on finding a new home for a ferret.
It just makes me feel so bad that another little ferret will be uprooted
from the home he knows because some people can't make a commitment to a
pet and teach their children the responsibilty of pet ownership.  Same
old story.  We've all heard it before.  After I got off the phone, I had
to go hold my precious boy and couldn't imagine how anyone could give up
one of these sweet innocent angels.
 
--
Moxie and Nexus the moose, missing Chance
[Posted in FML issue 3873]