Hey everyone,
 
Since I last posted to the FML, I've moved to Las Vegas, got a new job,
went landsailing, rented a place that actually allows pets, met CJ and the
crew, adopted Sadie Mae, a basset puppy from BHRSC through a Darlene Carr,
a contact of CJ's, and tons of other stuff.
 
Sadie Mae and Spirit, our albino jill get along wonderfully.  They chase
each other, romp and play, and generally have more fun than most humans
do.  While an older dog might view Spirit as prey, Sadie has lived with
her since eight weeks of age, so she is more of a sister.  Like all older
sisters, Spirit did teach her a few things, such as how to climb the stairs
and squeeze under the couch and bed.  Nowadays, Sadie is too big to fit
under the couch, but she'll still stick just her head in the "Hovel of
Shame" when she gets in trouble.
 
Obviously, getting a picture of them playing is as difficult as you would
imagine, but I did manage to capture one.  Visit the link to Sadie Mae's
page at http://jason.creager.com/bassets/
I can't recall where it is exactly, but it's definitely on the Photos
page.  This is also the temporary page for Las Vegas Basset Rescue.  Once
we settle on a name and get some particulars worked out, I'll be doing
webpages for LVBR and 24 Carat Ferret Rescue on a site to be hosted at
http://www.websolo.com/ .
 
If anyone is interested in getting a website, check these folks out.  For a
$40 setup fee and $9.95 a month you get up to 100MB of storage, virtually
unlimited page hits, CGI, image maps, two email addresses, and more
PLUS...and this is the biggie...THEY pay your $70 Internic registration.
I've got no financial connections to them, just passing this info along to
those rescues who don't have a website.
 
Ferrets are wild in Las Vegas
 
When I moved here, I checked into the local laws about ferrets.  They are
considered wild here "because they are capable of rabies and there wasn't a
better classification".  The person with whom I spoke from the city said
that the Wild Animal permit was $25 even though the website said $100 and
that "it's not really enforced".  Heck, most of the pet stores I visited
didn't know about it, so I would agree with that.  She also said "If a
ferret comes in and it's not registered, we have the owner pay the fee, but
we won't use that as a reason to destroy the animal like some cities do."
 
That's all well and good, but we all know it's just flat out wrong.  The
municipal code has a special section for pot bellied pigs, so I think it
should change the classification of ferrets, too.  Now that I live in a
"pet" apartment and only work 40 hours a week, I would like to get more
involved with pet issues, especially this one.
 
Any thoughts on this?  Obviously, it can be done as there are stacks and
stacks of references.
 
I would certainly hate to cause any heartache and grief for anyone,
especially the shelters in town, since this classification right now is
basically ignored, BUT when I saw the Animal Control officer on TV with a
ferret for adoption and she said "Since these are wild animals, you'll
need to get the wild animal permit." it just aggravated me to the point
where I want to stop the misinformation.
 
The city is obviously aware of CJ because she's involved with rescue and
Iron Mike's ferrets, so the chances of them saying "Oh, you've got to pay
$25 per ferret for the license for each animal." NOW is a bit slim and they
wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on if they did.
 
I would just HATE for someone somewhere down the road to be sued because
their "wild" ferret for which they did not have a permit, bit someone.
Some insurance companies might be able to weasle out of covering the
liability since the owner was in clear violation of a city ordinance in
the first place and insurance generally does NOT cover liabilities when
the owner is breaking the law.  Granted, I'm no lawyer, but...
 
What's worse, the "I could have done something about it, but didn't."
feeling.
 
So, Las Vegas ferret owners, contact me directly at [log in to unmask] and
let's see where we stand on this.  Any thoughts by others are mroe than
welcome, too.  If we decide to proceed, I'm sure I'll be requesting
"domesticated" references soon enough.
[Posted in FML issue 2910]