Hi Kat,
You have brought up good points.  Having a clause in the contract about
having a ferret certified as being abused by a vet is an excellent idea.
Thank you!
 
From Kat: Quote:
> ... but I would have this to say: if (IF!) the shelter is justifying
>the breaking of its contract by claiming abuse on the part of the owner,
>then why did it offer to let her have them back for the full adoption
>fee?
 
Exactly.  This doesn't make sense to me and so it leads me to think that
the ferrets may have been kept for other reasons.
 
From Kat: Quote:
>Personally, I think that contracts are great ideas and so are
>cooling-off periods.  I don't know if 24 hours is too short or 72 hours
>is too long, but the important thing is to have /something/ in there,
>and to make sure that everyone involved knows the time period.  And the
>contract should be clear on the point of exceptions that the shelter
>might want to make, such as in the case of abuse or neglect.  You've got
>to leave yourself a legal leg to stand on, to use an old and hoary
>clichi.
 
I for one see a necessity for allowing people a change of heart only
because I know that sometimes people are forced into a situation that
they don't want to be in.  Sometimes, it's as simple as not realizing
that there are other alternatives.  I am happy to report that not all
calls for surrendering have ended in us picking up a ferret.  Education
is the key and making ferret owners aware that there is a strong support
system out there that they can rely on.  That sometimes makes all the
difference in the world.
 
As for the time period... that is a hard one to call.  I personally
think 24 hours is too short.  Is 72 hours too long or too short?  I
think it has to be determined by the individual shelter and their own
circumstances.  I could see that even 72 hours could be deemed as too
short and a week more appropriate.  But to know specifically what is the
right amount of time is difficult to determine.
 
From Kat: Quote:
>Now, lastly, how does one prove that one called within the cooling-off
>period?  Some answering machines and voice mail services will time stamp
>the messages people leave, but if you're the /caller/, what's the best
>way to prove that you called at such and such a time?  Any suggestions?
 
Good point and good question.  Our shelter has a "hotline" that is
managed by volunteers and is regulated by picking up messages remotely.
This system has a time/date stamp on it and is recorded and documented
when the calls are picked up.  If the woman called and was lucky enough
to talk to a person without going through a messaging system, then it
would rely on the honesty of the person who picked up to record it as
such.  Perhaps a separate contract should be be given to those that
reconsider that is then dropped off at the mail address listed for the
shelter.  Providing the shelter checks this mail on a regular basis,
this could work as proof of making the deadline.
 
I should say right now that if someone were to come to me even at hour 25
of a 24 hour deadline, I would still return the ferrets, provided that if
any medical treatments were done that this was all paid up prior to the
return.  Our contract reflects this and so would not be a surprise to the
client.  Things happen... traffic could be bad, the car may not start,
and so on.  There are things that we as shelters need to be flexible on
because it is our compassion that will help people in need and the
ferrets that they want a better life for.
 
Betty Janner
Manager of Calgary Operations
Alberta Ferret Society
[Posted in FML issue 3929]