Hello Ferret Family, One question to begin with... Is there a shortage of ferrets in shelters now or foreseeablely in the near future? Please, any reply on this would be appreciated and educating. Thank you in advance. I'm sending this note to clarify a perceived misunderstanding in my statement to promise myself to never purchase another ferret from a pet store. One word. Shelters. There are too many people who will purchase a furkid on impulse and with little education on these fuzzies' requirements for a life deserving of them. Hopefully more than a majority of those impulse purchases are from generally good people who will seek a better home for the ferret, if they cannot care for him or her. We all hate to think, but unfortunately we know, there are some less than moral people on this planet who in effect torture a ferret with neglect and abandonment or worse. Sadly, the ones who see this torture the most are the proprietors of shelters. For their dedication to these little guys, we of moral fiber can be grateful. The vast majority of pet stores, if any, do not require you to sign a contract stating that if you ever get in a situation to where you can no longer take care of your pet to immediately return it to them. Theirs' is a one way deal. They only really what fresh merchandise. Signing a contract is exactly what I had to do to "adopt" my last four furkids. My shelter of choice has all legal rights to these ferrets and can sue me if I ignore or mistreat any of them. Why?, because they CARE. In my mind, a better world it would be, if all prospective ferret owners were required to adopt their first pet from a shelter. They'd get a fuzzy that would be easier to take care of because he or she is categorized as adoptable. The shelter parent/s will have already assess the fuzzy's health. The shelter mom or dad will tell you if he or she needs litter training or if he or she is a nipper, but those characteristics may make him or her unadoptable. But more importantly, the shelter parent/s will assess YOU. Why?, because they CARE. Here's my Star Wars' Yoda statement... Education leads to understanding. Understanding leads to awareness. Awareness leads to caring. Caring leads to action. If more people seeking any pet learned what to expect with that species of animal, they could reasonably decide that that pet is or is not for them. All the better for both concerns. Uneducated people fill shelters to the brim. I have been thinking a lot about the aspect concerning the general populous' s awareness of shelters and their service to humanity. If more people were aware they could get a better socially trained and well adjusted fuzzy from shelters, they would look there first, and now here's the laugher, and if there were a shortage of adoptable fuzzies, they could go to the next best place, the pet store. So, if the better deal is found at shelters (which it is), the demand on pet stores would go down. It hurts to think of a six, seven, eight month old fuzzy wasting away at a pet store, but think how much happier a fuzzy at a shelter would be to go home with someone who will give him or her more individualized attention. Not saying a shelter parent doesn't have enough love to give each fuzzy, it's a fact they do, but what is lacking is the time. I've been contemplating something about a lot of our excitement toward "ferret sightings". Most all of us love proving to the world, fuzzies are fun, but an uneducated populous will also see these fuzzies. The furkids appeal leads to the impulse. I'd bet most first time ferret owners these days have cable TV and watch the 'Animal Planet'. This logic compels me to write the people at the 'Animal Planet' to thank them for the showing of ferrets, but to also request a PSA or two or three during "The Planet's Funniest Animals" and other shows, mentioning the best place to get new pet is to acquire an abandoned one. Well. keep lovin' those fuzzybutt furbrains, 'cause they do you... [Posted in FML issue 3764]