Since the FML permits a limited # of posts/day, let me first address some
of the less volatile issues brought up which IMO are being used to paint
an unfavorable portrait of me.
HIGGINS wrote:
>This is the same person that came down so hard on Modern Ferret......
I wonder WHY this was even mentioned? To stir up flames from issues long
ago? Yes, Mary&Eric and I disagreed. I cancelled my MF subscription but
continue to buy MF issues that interest/inform me. (The last two MF's
featured pics of a dear friend's ferrets & their home when Mary&Eric
visited FL. So if you haven't seen MF #27, the Centerfold alone is worth
the price!) And further to Mary&Eric's immense credit when they sent out
a few free copies of their book "The Wit & Wisdom..." to Shelters; they
included me as well. They could have easily rejected "gifting" me....due
to our very public disagreements....but they didn't. I was impressed and
told numerous people of Mary&Eric's generosity in this regard as it IS a
wonderful book. I hold no grudges re our past differences of opinion...
and it doesn't seem like they do either.
HIGGINS wrote:
>This person has left ferrets under her care at several different shelters
>and has never returned to take these ferrets, or even check on there
>welfare or help pay the vet bills incurred taking proper care of these
>abandoned ferrets.
If another Shelter has room & volunteers help, ferrets are indeed
transferred between shelters if it results in a ferret being adopted
quicker. I believe Shelter often find folks temporarily "foster" ferrets
for short-term nursing care or nip training....and then become "bonded" &
request to keep these fuzzies as their own. IMO that does not make these
"abandoned" ferrets. You of all people should know this, Jim. As an
experienced ferret owner, I daresay you would resent it if I "checked on
a fuzzy's welfare" too often after entrusted to you. What about ASHLEY,
DYNAMO, DANCER, VERBALS, et al. who you volunteered to adopt out for me
when my Shelter was full? Each of these young ferrets came to you
singly & fully vet-checked & vaccinated--with the medical records from Dr.
Kemmerer's provided. I didn't seek reimbursement; nor any your Adoption
Fees. IMO you deserved that as you would be caring for the ferrets til
you found them Forever homes.
HIGGINS wrote:
>I myself have four here that were left over 2 years ago &have never even
>been checked on. One had major surgery for adrenal and insulinoma at the
>same time. Another has Cardio-myopthy and is on heart meds every other
>day. A third one keeps getting mast cell tumors at least once a week.
>However the fourth one is rathe healthy, small but healthy.
Why are you insinuating that POGI, SMOKEY JO, MR. B & NERFETTE were
"dumped" on you by me? Obviously these are 4 Operation SAFE (Arcadia)
ferrets you refer to. Being new to FL, you wanted so much to be part of
the multi-Shelter rescue efforts for these former breeders and offered to
help. Yes, that was 2 years ago...and their medical problems showed up
well after you decided to personally adopt them. Are Shelters responsible
for veterinary care even a year AFTER a fuzzy has been officially adopted?
Do YOU do that for folks who adopt from you? You infer NERFETTE being
"small" as a negative--as if emaciated or malnourished. As I remember it
you FELL IN LOVE WITH HER because of this delightful trait. I have
Arcadia EMILY who I lovingly refer to as my little "miniature" gal; and
Jackie Hawley laid claim to tiny STUBBY from that group...
HIGGINS wrote:
>I cannot understand how this person can call heself a shelter operator
>when on the road everyday fot up to ten hours or sometimes more.
Yes, I am often "on the road" out of necessity to place & transfer ferrets;
take ferrets to Dr. Kr's; etc....but certainly not for 10 hrs/day. (A
long-distance truck-driver constitution I do not have.) Are you trying
to say that I should *not* have driven 2 hours down to Ocala on those
occasions you accepted adoptable ferrets from me in order to save YOU a
8-hour roundtrip to Jacksonville? Or I should NOT drive to Ormond Beach to
meet Brevard Ferret Lovers Rescue representatives halfway when they also
accept adoptable ferrets from me? Or that I should NOT have driven 3+
hours to Titusville to meet Sue Thomas of Okeechobee when 13 of her ferrets
needed medical care but she wouldn't/couldn't get them to Dr. K's? I try
my best to "meet people halfway"....both literally and figuratively. Sorry
you (and Sue) didn't appreciate the efforts.
HIGGINS wrote:
>The ferrets are always kept in secret, no one gets to see where or how
>they live and when she does happen to adopt one out she takes the ferret
>and meets the adoptor in a neutral place. I don't consider that a good
>operating policy.
Correct, Jim....YOU personally have NO knowledge of how my ferrets are
kept. But many folks do. I've had Open Houses here; but not everyone
is invited/welcome to my home. (Sorry but I'm not the Martha Stewart
entertaining type.) And I *do* feel differently re what you consider a
"good operating policy". My Shelter ferrets are not adopted out at a
"neutral" place....unless I already know a person who adopted from me
previously; or where we live a distance apart but I know the ferrets
on both sides of the equation---so there is limited chance of bad
interactions.
HIGGINS writes:
>Some may disagree with but I like possible adoptors to come here so I can
>see how they react with the ferrets and the ferrets interact with them in
>their own environment.
I prefer Adoption Applications completed/returned to me so I can
pre-qualify (check vet references; any Pet rules®s, etc.) Then I *do*
go to a potential Adopter's home for a "home visit" with some fuzzies...
in order to check ferret-proofing; caging size & placement;
condition/temperament of other animals in the home (yeah, humans
included! :-) IMO the NEW ferret needs to be accepted in the CURRENT
ferret's environment--not the other way around. I've also done it your
way; but the ferret w/a home usually finds a Shelter play area as a Great
Adventure! And does not pay much mind to the Adoptables hoping to interact
with him/her. Further I *know* my ferrets to be parasite- and ECE-free and
will not put my personal/shelter ferret population at risk from an Unknown
ferret.
So you see, Jim, we DO have major differences in our philosophies and it's
the primary reason our working relationship failed. Your post was proof
to me it was sent to use the FML to publicly malign me for disagreements
in our past. Please feel free to contact me off-list for anything further
you may need to discuss. This should not have been public anyway.
For The Ferrets\Barbara
[Posted in FML issue 3269]
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