First off, let me say that i am not defending anyone.  I just wanted to
let everyone know that I agree with what Jen B said 95%.  The other 5%:
 
We need to realize everyone has limitations.  When i got my first ferret
I made sure I had $500 dollars in emergency money.  At that time, I was
a 17 year old college student.  I realize nowthat 500 it isn't enough,
but it just wasn't feasible for me to put more away.  A few months ago,
I adopted two more and before I did that I made sure I had $800 in
emergency money per ferret.  Still not a lot, but a good cushion.
Fortunatly I have never had to use it all, but I am glad it is there.
Each month I try to put $5 or $10 more dollars in the emergency account,
but sometimes, I just can't swing it.  (I am still a college student,
just bought a home, and work at a humane society so i don't have much
extra) Enough of my story, my point is that everyone has limits.  The
limit for my ferrets is around $5,000 (my credit limit).  I hate to put
a price on it, but I have to be realistic.
 
Working at a humane society I see propblems with money all the time.  One
of the questions on the adoption application is how much are you willing
to spend on a unexpected illness.  Most people answer $500.  Please
consider that number is for dogs and cats.  It isn't a high number, but
we still adopt out to those families.  We explain that even though you
have a limit, you have to do something, you either have to spend the
extra dough to fix them or you have to end their pain.  You can't just
say I can't afford it so I am going to do nothing.  When adopting out
pure bred dogs that are prone to certain medical problems we let the
families know what they might have to deal with and we also let them
know the amount of money it will likely take to correct the illness or
whatever.
 
If shelters were only going to adopt out to families that could afford
to spend all their money on vet bills, the shelters would be even more
overcrowded.  Personally, I think to have a multiple ferrets and say that
$800 is too much is scary.  Every ferret owner should expect each of
their ferrets to need adrenal surgery and/or treatment some time in their
live.  Most ferrets will encounter this illness, so ferret owners should
find out the average cost of the surgery in their area and plan on
spending it.  I would also hope that before shelters are adopting out
ferrets that they are telling the adopters what to expect in terms of vet
costs in their area.  The reality of it is every person has their limit.
 
I hope something in this ramble made sense to someone.  Please.  No
flames.  Polite rebuttles welcome.
 
On another note, is there anyone out there that can give me a web page
address that has some ferret tatoos on it.  Even a page that has some
good black and white clip art to browse will do.
 
Dayna, Gonzo, Kodo, & Daisy
 
=====
I LOVE FERRETS!
[Posted in FML issue 4450]