Rollen Mason (TJ's Ferret Haven) was the owner of the NJ Christmas Rescue
Ferrets.  He was 64 years old, although I was shocked to learn that--I had
always thought he was around 50.  Rollen had been active in the ferret
community for years.  He had attended both AFA and LIFE shows, as well as
some independent shows, usually with his brother David and David's son
Stephen, who is a teenager.
 
The ferrets Rollen brought to the shows were always immaculate, clean,
cared for, sweet natured, I can't say enough about them.  Yes, some of the
lines had problems, but so don't many lines, and I can honestly say that
I have heard of many people who breed who at times overlook a genetic
problem when the ferret is sweet tempered and gorgeous otherwise.  I'm
not condoning this, only being truthful.
 
For years I had heard that someone from South Jersey was breeding ferrets
and selling to pet stores.  I have no proof that it was Rollen.  But what
I do know as fact is that there were more than 34 hobs and 24 jills, and
no babies.  Statistically speaking, there should have been some kits there.
This is what causes me to conjecture that he might have been the person
selling to pet stores.  But let me stress I don't know this for sure.
Rollen had been an acquaintance of mine for seven years, and I'm still
shocked not only by his untimely passing, but also by the truths that
have come out since.  Others that knew him even better than I are even
more shocked.  Yes, I'm still trying to find out if he had a F&G or USDA
license.  And yes, if he did, someone has some explaining to do.  But
we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
 
No, none of us had any idea that his place was in the shambles that it was.
No one that I have been able to find had ever actually been there.  Guess
what?  I can guarantee that MANY of you out there have never actually had
anyone in your home from the ferret community.  So for the people screaming
that something should have been done, nobody knew.  It's tragic, but get
over it, and start being proactive rather than reactive.
 
No, he wasn't ill for a long time.  I saw Rollen on December 2, 2000 at the
Pennsauken AFA show, and spoke to him for a while.  He was showing ferrets,
and had a vendor table.  His death was quite untimely.
 
There are many things that I learned from Animal Control over the situation
in the house that I just don't care to repeat.  First of all, it would be
secondhand, second, Rollen is no longer here to defend his actions, some of
which might have been defendable.  We just don't know.
 
There are just too many unanswered questions.  Perhaps some of these
ferrets had been under veterinary care.  Maybe surgeries had been
scheduled.  Perhaps Rollen had personal issues, which we just don't know
about.  They say there are three sides to every story, yours, mine, and the
truth.  Well I know mine, but I can't say for sure that I know the truth,
and Rollen isn't here to give "yours".  So we need to accept that there
will likely always be questions unanswered and move on.
 
Yes, it is a tragedy, not only that the ferrets have been traumatized, but
also that a man is dead, and a family grieves.  I think that we need to
channel a lot of anger towards a good end, and make these animals as happy
and comfortable as we possibly can.  This is not the first time this type
of situation has occurred.  I'm sure it won't be the last.
 
If you want to make sure that this type of situation never happens again,
support your local SPCA, HSUS or animal control.  Offer your time to clean
kennels, care for animals, or even answer the phone and do paperwork.
This will free up the inspectors and officers to track down abusive and
neglectful situations.  It's kind of like voting, if you don't, then don't
complain about how things are being run.
 
Anne
[Posted in FML issue 3281]