Aaaaack!  My words have come back to bite me on the butt!
 
Ok, I an the last of the great believers in the "Toss them in and let them
work it out" school, and stand by it.  But I elected not to do that with
Poncho.  Why?
 
Every ferret is an individual, and Poncho is one of those ferrets that is
extremely timid.  Only now, after four days, will he come out when anyone is
in the room.  He is very timid, and started throwing up and having severe
diahrrea the first few days after he came here.  He was (and still is) very
stressed out, but with a lot of TLC, he is maintaining weight and settling
down.
 
I absolutely know I can get him into the group.  That's not a problem.  But
with Poncho, it will take more TIME than I currently have, and making the
time takes from my other 20, my family and my school activities.  It would
not be fair to anyone, including myself, to steal that time from them, so I
opted to place Poncho with someone else who has the time.  Poncho is a very
sweet little guy, and I know I will already miss him.  Yes, I want him for
myself, but sometimes you have do what is right rather than what you want.
 
If I had the time, I would place him in the group, spending the time and
effort necessary to reduce stress and maintain weight and vitality.  With
Poncho it will take some time, maybe even more than the week I usually
predict, because of his special needs.  With 20 other "friends" helping out,
Poncho, having lived alone for 4-5 years, will not have an easy go of it,
and without proper monitoring, he could possibly become ill or depressed.
While I fully realise the task could be done, it was compassion for Poncho
that forced me to solicit people with only a few ferrets in their possession
for the adoption.
 
It's like the old astronomer's joke, "Nothing can go faster than light
because it quarks up." Even the dogmatic among us has to allow exceptions
from time to time, especially when it benefits the innocent.  Therefore my
new adage shall be:
 
"In most cases, toss them in and let them work it out."
 
Bob C and 20 MO INCORPORATED
[Posted in FML issue 2227]