I am a ferret rescue as well as a responsible small private ferret
breeder.  My adoption contract is for ALL the rescues and breeder kits I
place.  To me, they are ALL considered adopted, not sold.  In my contract
one of the things that is stressed, is that for any reason and no matter
how much time has lasps, the ferret MUST be returned to ME.  I know other
responsible small private ferret breeders that also have this statement
included in their contracts.
 
The majority of the problem with us getting the ferrets back is because
of the owners that got the ferrets from us.  Rather than notifying us,
they just dump them at the nearest shelter.  Believe it or not, there are
some people out there that just plain ignore the contracts that they have
signed with us about the return condition.  I went through this with a
breeder that got a kit from me a few years back, luckily the person they
gave the ferret to was a friend of mine and she returned this ferret to
me.  So please, do not blame these small breeders for not having unwanted
the ferrets returned back to them.  For the most part, it's not their
fault, but the fault of the new owners that obtained their ferrets from
them.
 
Debi
[Posted in FML issue 5306]