Dawn wrote:
>1- My ferrets are all Marshall Farms ferrets from a pet shop, and seem fine
>to me.  I hear a lot of talk insinuating that Marshall Farms ferrets are
>somehow "inferior" or people who get Marshall Farms ferrets are somehow
>"not real" ferret lovers.  I couldn't love my boys more and feel sorry for
>ferrets born under poor breeder conditions.
 
We have and have had ferrets from a wide range of breeders in the last 16
to 18 years (not sure how many years any longer).  The Marshall ferrets
we've had here have not been ANY different from the others in terms of
health, except for one retired breeder who lived a longer than normal
lifespan and later died of Sogren (sp?) Syndrome (the only ferret I've
heard of with that mucus membrane disorder).  There was a shelter survey
which indicated that MFs in a shelter setting are more prone to adrenal
growths, but two later home surveys, one of which was as reliable as the
shelter one and one of which may have been a tad better, did not find that
pattern in the home setting (even among past shelter ferrets if memory
serves).  Aside from that one shelter survey I know of no reputable
evidence that MFs are any less healthy than the standard ferrets out there.
 
Does that mean that I agree with all of their practises; no, of course
not.  I most certainly don't.  What it means is that when we are realistic
about what actually is wrong instead of adding on top things which are
unsubstantiated we have the best luck of making constructive changes.  The
worst situations that Steve and I have known about have involved some
horrid back-yard breeders.  The best have involved some private breeders.
 
Dawn also wrote:
>I think we started out wrong by letting ours have the run of the
>house while >we're home.  As a result, we can't have anything on end
>tables or coffee tables >and our ferrets have completely claimed our
>dresser.
 
Sounds good and right to Steve and me!!!!  Ferrets will be...
 
Ela wrote:
>With the holidays rapidly approaching, please think of the ferrets in
>shelters across the country and around the world.  Please take a second
>to consider including them on your holiday giving list.
 
Yes, and if you are afraid that you didn't have enough charity checks going
out this year for your taxes, then don't forget that a number of ferret
shelters now are 501c status so are tax deductible for givers and that even
more are pursuing this status.  We give to our local one mostly and that's
not tax deductible -- the same place where kissy Glueball was found last
year, but being tax deductible does make a useful difference for some
people's wallets, and might increase the amounts given.  The Morris Animal
Foundation is also tax deductible and you CAN request that the moneys over
something like $25 or so go to help veterinary studies that benefit ferrets
or even that benefit domestic ferrets (though a number of medical things
which benefit domestics also benefit BFFs and visa versa).  They even have
a webpage now, but it's not completed for the exotic section:
http://www.MorrisAnimalFoundation.org .
They have funded veterinary research projects in the past which helped
improve care for domestic ferrets, are now helping with a BFF problem, and
will further help ferrets in the future when enough is given toward such
projects.  So: remember shelters and remember veterinary improvements at
this time of giving thanks.
 
don Quixote -- errrrrrr -- Sukie (Yes, people actually know who I am!)
You folks know me since I've been here forever -- which is probably why no
one actually yelled at me privately when I got angry, though I got some
polite comments on the FML.  You know that I don't often get angry and I
don't often cry.  All I ask you to take into account is that I know some
things about the situation which you very likely don't due to them being
private pieces of information, and that since my behavior was not typical
of me I very likely had strong and excellent reasons to blow my top about
that topic, though I really should have instead been humorous on the list
and asked Bill to forward a quit-your-hurting flavored comment to the
poster about that behavior and timing in case that person is a member of
a small but very manipulative group set on taking away a resource which
benefits us all.  Certainly read like that was the case again, being
anonymous and especially considered along with the poster's second nudge,
without which I would have just continued wondering if it was only a badly
worded joke and never said that stuff but just joked back.  I apologize to
the folks who had to hear the cross-fire.  I should have taken 10 deep
breaths and waited a day then re-written.  Granted, I'm only human, but the
innocent folks -- pretty much every single one of you since ferret people
tend to be constructive -- here didn't need to be in the middle so I really
blew it, and I am sorry that I did.  I sure do thank you for being patient
with me.
[Posted in FML issue 2861]