Hi FML'rs,
 
Thought I should post about my comments yesterday re: Renee taking Kiwi to
school and possibly innocently encouraging children to run home with the
plea to have a ferret, setting the scene for more neglected or abused pets
due to ignorance of their needs:
 
Renee wrote me a great response; kind,understanding, and informative.  She
had neglected to mention, initially, that she had handed out a fact sheet,
that in my opinion is the best I've seen.  The mini fact sheet I received
through the FML is great,(I ran it off and brought them to pet stores), but
Renee's is short and to the point.  Easy to read, and worth running off.  I
know that at least the kids at HER school are informed!!!
 
She also pointed out to me that we cannot hide ferrets from the world, and
that education is the best way to go.  Of course she is correct, and I was
seeing things through narrow vision.  Perhaps I am paranoid because I am at
school so often, and hear too many stories from the children of pets that
have suffered pain and death due to ignorance or neglect on the part of
their family members.(as in ,"oh, he died."....how?  "oh, the dogs killed
him", or "oh, my Dad stepped on him", "oh, the bird flew out the window",
etc., etc.etc.  Yes, I agree, education is the answer to most things, and
we should never stop trying.  It is education in all things that makes a
difference in the world.  I like my fantasy better, (of only caring people
owning animals), but I know this isn't reality, and that educating the
public is the only hope for a decent quality of life for all living things.
 
RE: The EBD (Emotionally Behavior Disorder) child who's mother I
discouraged from getting him a ferret...I should be ashamed due to the
fact that my purposeful misrepresentation of ferrets could have caused
harm in any way.  However, in this one case, I did the only thing I knew
in light of the facts: This was not your normal mom.  This was the *mom
from hell* who has rebuked the school district for years over her son's
need for placement...it has been a long haul...she even demanded that he
quit attending church when his teacher had kindly brought him...she is an
ignorant , and a true alcoholic who doesn't get up in the morning to make
sure her kids make it out the door dressed.  Linda Iroff suggested that I
had presented the true facts and that maybe this pet wouldn't have been
the best for her son.  This woman would have hit me on the spot at the mere
suggestion that I try to tell her anything about HER son!!  (You really
have to know her to believe what I am trying to explain; she is one scary
woman.)  So I presented a fert as being a hassle for HER; the only thing
she listened to.  Her response was *Well, then, he can get some ---damn
fish, but if they stink , I'll dump 'em over his head*.....Communicating
with someone like this is a dead end, and depressing.  I am not a
counselor.  I am just someone who can't sleep at night if I think someone
else's animal may be suffering...in this case I did what I did, but Linda's
thoughts that I might have caused harm filled me with horror.  (the
possibility that this woman would tell someone else that ferrets are bad
dudes and result in one getting dumped) I will never do this again.  We do
not lie in our home; I have raised my son that the truth is always the best
and only way to go.  Sometimes when we bump into hard rock people, we take
the chicken way out.  With this individual family it worked, but left me
feeling not good about myself.  Thank you all for letting me explain and
to say I'm sorry.
 
Lizzi
[Posted in FML issue 2933]