Allowing your ferrets to run lose in a car is irresponsible to the ferret,
passengers, other people on the road, and pedestrians.  If a ferret is
beneath the clutch, brake or accelerator pedals when you need to use them
quickly, you'll be faced with the decision of injuring your ferret or
taking no action at all.  In an emergency situation where you have only
a split second to respond, you will not have time to remove the ferret,
pull over, or do anything but what your instincts tell you.  The result
is either an injured or dead ferret, or injured or dead people.
 
I really don't understand the concept of "training people" to drive with
ferrets running free in a car.  First of all, just what is the point?  What
is so advantageous about a free roaming ferret in the vehicle compared to a
ferret safely confined in a carrier or cage?  Second, unless you "train" in
an empty parking lot or a private driveway, you are putting every single
other person on the road at risk while you learn how to drive with a ferret
underfoot.
 
Even if you've convinced yourself that you are trained to drive with a
ferret roaming free, what happens if an accident occurs (unrelated to the
free ranging ferret) and a door or window pops open (or is opened by
police, paramedic or other emergency response person) and your ferret, who
is going to be very frightened at this point, leaps out into the road?  My
wife and I watched in horror as a woman's car was rear ended and her small
dog, who was free in the car, jumped out as soon as the woman's car door
was opened.  The small dog ran into the opposite lane and was struck and
killed by a car.  This would not have occurred had the dog been in a
carrier or kennel.
 
Do not take your ferrets into a restaurant.  It doesn't take many
complaints to local health inspectors to trigger a surprise inspection or a
warning to the restaurant owner.  If the reports continue, or you happen
to be in the restaurant with your ferrets when an inspector is there, the
restaurant owner can lose their license.  Many health inspectors think that
it is ultimately the responsibility of the restaurant owner or manager to
make sure animals are not brought in by patrons, and repeated complaints
about animals will be blamed not on the patrons who bring the animals in,
but on the owner or manager.
 
Please, let's be responsible pet owners.
 
Leonard Bottleman                       [log in to unmask]
http://www.teleport.com/~leonard
[Posted in FML issue 3036]