A few weeks back, Kris and I were contacted by an animal advertising
agency.  They wanted to know if we would be willing to bring a few
ferrets to a retirement party.  Apparently, the gentleman retiring loved
ferrets.  This request was quite out of the ordinary, but not wanting to
miss the chance to educate people and put ferrets in the limelight, we
agreed.  Besides, the mention of payment came up!
 
This prestigious event was held in the Fisher Bldg on the 19th floor.
When we arrived we were ushered into the conference room.  A lady came in
and asked us if we knew why we were there.  We replied "We have no clue".
She then proceeded to tell us a story.  The story of a ferret that had to
be euthanized under the retirees administration.  You see, we found out
that the retiree was the Director of the Michigan Department of Community
Health.  The ferret in the story was none other than Kodo!  This party
was for Mr. James Haveman.  We were told that he never forgot that
ferret.  That it hurt him to have to do what he did, but he had no
choice.  Michigan was a kill and test state.
 
Part of me wanted to grab my fuzzies and run for the nearest exit.  I
had a vision of someone yelling "Off with their heads", as in Alice In
Wonderland.  I know that Kris and I just looked at each other, kind of
asking "What do we do now?" I had tears in my eyes as I remembered back
so many years, the summer of '97.  So many ferrets lost their lives.  I
wanted to meet this man.  We decided to stay.
 
Soon, it was time for the little ones to make their debut.  We harnessed
up Oliver, Stanley and Cassie.  Cassie was perfect!  She ran down the
long hallway and when she came to the turn, she stopped and timidly
peeked around the corner.  I heard someone say "It's a ferret!!!".
 
Then, there we were, in the same room with the man responsible for Kodo's
death.
 
Kris and I talked in length about the care of ferrets and the myths that
surround them.  It was funny to see full grown men and women on the floor
with the fuzzies.  It mattered not the finery they were wearing, there
was a ferret that wanted to play.  We had the opportunity to discuss the
Kodo issue.  A lot of the facts, over the years had been misconstrued.
Mr. Haveman apologized, once again, for having to follow through with the
law of Michigan.  The people that heard the story could not understand
the senseless killing.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that James Haveman was
also very instrumental in getting the compendium passed, guaranteeing our
fuzzies a quarantine.  After Kodo's death, he worked hard to get the law
changed.  Mr. Haveman never forgot Kodo.
 
I don't know why we were put in this place.  Maybe to let the ferret
community know that the heart of one man kept the candle burning for a
little ferret.  Possibly we were there to give this man the chance to
say "I'm sorry" after all these years.
 
Mary
http://www.mkaresq.com
 
[Moderator's note: What a wonderful story.  The circumstances surrounding
Kodo's execution still choke me up but I'm also constantly reminded about
the lessons so many have learned from martyrdom.  Thanks for posting that
great recap above.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 3970]