As I stated yesterday, my original post was for information about what I have been calling FERRET ABANDONMENT DISORDER. I asked for input from rescues and shelters about the situation I described and over the past three days I have received dozens of emails with some excellent information on them. THANK YOU SHELTERS. In my article, I also stated very clearly for those people who were not shelters, please don't bother me with your thoughts about why people abandon their ferrets. I don't care. Because it basically boils down to this ferret fans. You can have God, Jesus, Buddha, Jehovah, or whatever god or deity you believe in come down and bless you as you dump your ferret off at a shelter. The bottom line is, your FERRET DOES NOT KNOW WHY ITS BEING ABANDONED. The critter does not know if you the difference between a new job, baby, house, and just plan abandonment. This is why I refer to them as dumb. Not because they are not intelligent, because ferrets are. But what differs most humans from animals is the fact that we can openly communicate. Yes, animals can communicate with each other, but they also cannot understand you when you say, "mommy and daddy have to leave you now in this shelter and you will find a good home." Its kinda like an old FAR SIDE comic I keep on my refrigerator, in one caption it shows a human talking to his cat "your a bad kitty, you should not have eaten the bird, bad kitty, bad kitty" Then it shows in the next cartoon what the cat hears " blah blah blah kitty, blah blah blah blah blah balh kitty, blah kitty,". For those of you who are still having problems with what FAD is all about and where I am coming from with this, go back a few days and please read the article. If there are some words your having problems with, pick up a dictionary. When I say I don't want you to waste my time trying to defend peoples reasons for abandoning ferrets, its because over the past four years, I think I have heard them all. And honestly, I do agree, the ferret is coming to a better place in my house. Because while it is with me the ferret will get to play with my eight, eat a smorgeboard of healthy food, get love, attention, a warm bed to sleep in, and eventually if FAD does not set in, a good home that I know will take good care of it. But I don't want to waste anymore time on this discussion. I think another FML veteran posted an article the other day about listing the reasons people come up with to justify their reasons for abandoning the loved ones: Here is my favorite (not really, but if I have to have one, its the funniest) "I can no longer take care of my baby, we have had her for three years, but now we have had a baby and we no longer have time for her anymore" May the Ferrets be with you, Rick United Ferret Organization 10584 S. 700 E #310 (New Address) Sandy, Utah 84070 (801) 572-6010 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 3069]