>I debated whether to tell the tale and risk starting an uproar or just >quietly fight a losing battle. It's only a losing battle if people DON'T speak up and make a stink when things like this happen. You were right to contact Petco headquarters. I would suggest you write down what happened and send it to Marshall Farms as well, perhaps registered mail so that you have a receipt that they received it. As you mentioned, Marshall's IS a for-profit business, of course, but they should be informed as to what happened to this little one. I'm no fan of Marshalls, as anyone who has read my past posts knows. But I have to wonder sometimes if they are truly aware of how often these kinds of things happen. So many of us see these kinds of things, but so few take action and contact the companies. There are a flood of stories here and on other message boards about the sad fate of many of these guys, but does Marshall's receive this information as regularly as we do? Do they receive a flood of letters? I've sent Marshalls two letters. One regarding the abbreviated life of my Nikita who we lost to the double-adrenal, insulinoma cocktail. And another that showed some "before" and "after" pictures of my Boomer, showing how adrenal disease has left him naked, smelly, and skinny at the age of four. If we don't share what we see and experience with these little guys with the pet stores and the breeders, things won't change. But if we make the effort to speak up for them - not just here online but to the people and companies who can make changes if enough people show concern - this will never be a losing battle and the ferrets will benefit from our efforts. Thanks for sharing the story and for contacting Petco, Heather W. in Massachusetts [Posted in FML issue 3778]