I want to make clear that while the two ferrets in bad health Dayna rescued
last weekend were badly mistreated, it wasn't because of true evil on the
part of "Pops", who'd had them since the daughter left for college.
 
He was extremely ignorant - he grossly underestimated their intelligence
both in their need for play and stimulation, and their ability to rearrange
nesting material to suit their needs; neither did he understand their other
nutritional or environmental needs at all.  To be fair, he didn't choose
them as pets in the first place, so getting mad at him is pointless.  I'm
more angry at the general state of ignorance that led up to this; for that
matter, until a year ago I too was ignorant about some aspects of their
care, which may well have led to my losing Felix.
 
So I can hardly cast stones, although I was at all times a better "parent"
than this guy.  Still, verbal abuse isn't the answer, education is,
especially aimed at new buyers.  When they legalize, at the very least I'll
be handing out printed FAQs at pet shops, and Dayna and I have discussed the
concept of holding classes at pet shops, in conjunction with pet shops, with
moderate fees partially or completely reimbursed in the purchase price of a
ferret once California legalizes.  People, this is the biggest state in the
union in population and once legal, ferts are gonna be *big*.  The critical
period will be the first year, when the possibility of "fad status" could
lead to a shelter-overload disaster.  In fact, I'd be interested in tracking
the experiences in other recent-legal states to get some handle on what
we're in for...
[Posted in FML issue 1784]