Ferret People Alert!!
 
The below link will take you to PetSmart's page regarding "small animal
care".  They have lumped ferrets under small animals in this category.
The picture at the top of the page shows a FERRET lying on a bed of wood
shavings (and not looking too comfy, if you ask me!) and the article goes
on to describe how "small animals" such as ferrets can be kept in wood,
pine, or aspen shavings.
 
This is very dangerous information for them to have on their website,
andfor them to be recommending this as bedding for ferrets!  The fact that
the entire article is headed by a picture of a ferret's head on shavings
just compounds how false this information is, and insures that new ferret
owners who read this will think that this is a good choice for ferrets
since the only accompanying photo shows a lethargic-looking ferret on wood
shavings, probably pine.
 
I'd like to encourage everybody who has a free moment (shelter moms, I
know you have LOTS of those, right??) to drop them an e-mail or write a
short letter letting them know that ferret owners and lovers object to
them having this incredibly incorrect and dangerous info on their web
site.  They're a major pet store chain, for crying out loud, they probably
carry countless books that specifically warn against using pine and aspen
shavings as bedding for ferrets!!
 
Their email is: [log in to unmask]
 
Corporate address is:
PetSmart.com
35 Hugus Alley, Suite 200
Pasadena, CA 91103
 
http://www.petsmart.com/small%5Fanimal/answers/articles/article%5F115.shtml
 
Please help me convince them to change this information so that unknowing
new ferret owners don't take this awful advice and pack their new babies
in a sea of pine shavings!!  I'm hoping that if they get enough objection
they will get this straight and hopefully specify pn their website that
ferrets should NOT be kept in shavings.
 
Thanks!
 
Heather Wojtowicz
Massachusetts
[Posted in FML issue 3656]