Hey, all!
Since a lot of people have been criticizing pet stores lately, I thought I'd
jump in with a word of defense.  My best friend works at a small pet store
in VA.  No one buys an animal without talking to one of the owners or
employees about animal care (many of the employees have "specialty areas").
She got her ferret there, the first ferret I ever saw.  Didn't take me long
to get my own!  They are kept in clean cages, maybe a little on the small
side, but they sell fast, usually in a matter of days.  They begin litter
training them there, and feed them high-quality ferret food.
 
Well, sure, you think-that's one tiny pet store.  Well the other day I went
into PetCo.  and of course looked at their ferret.  It had a nice, large,
clean house, litter, food water-the only bad thing was a chewed-up foam
ball.  I went up to one of the employees to point it out and barely got the
words out of my mouth before she was up in the cage, picking every last
piece of foam out, and telling me about her 3 ferrets.  I disagree with
people who say that you should get your first ferret from a shelter.  I had
very little experience when I got Starbuck, and being the energizer ferret
she's a handful BUT-shelter ferrets often have or develop problems that can
overwhelm a new owner.  Andre, my second ferret bites-not in a playful way
but *hard*.  If I hadn't had at least some experience with Starbuck first, I
wouldn't be able to deal with this problem.  Rather than condemn all pet
stores as a whole, we should encourage the ones who do attmept to educate
potential buyers and care for their animals.
 
Just my $.02
 
[Posted in FML issue 2221]