Trudi - My objection to Betty's original post has nothing to do with whether or not shelters should act in good faith towards the the people who entrust their animals to them. Absolutely they should treat all parties involved with the utmost respect possible. I would not support a group who I felt did otherwise. What I take issue with is the fact that Betty made a public posting that is potentially damaging to another organization without doing any sort of investigation into the situation. (Her original post did state that she had only heard one side of the story). It's one thing for Joe Q Public to do that, but as an official representative of a legitimate organization she should know to dot her i's and cross her t's first. Instead she starts making conclusions based on little information and casts those into the court of public opinion for debate. I have stuck my neck out because I am tired of watching one individual repeatedly try to muddy the names of group of well meaning individuals. When you see things posted on websites, quoted in the press, and posted on public mailing lists that are so obviously slanted and intended to cause harm to people you care about eventually your resolve to "leave well enough alone" starts to crumble. I'm not debating the particulars of the supposed case as I am not directly involved with FRES's fostering program, although I do know the people who organize and run it. It is foolish to debate a case based on conjecture and hearsay, especially when only one side of the story has been brought forward. To my knowledge, FRES has dealt in good faith with all of its surrenders and adoption situations. FRES wants only to build a quality foster program and educate the public about ferrets, etc. There is a lot of effort being put forward by its membership to make this happen. There are organizations whose approach is questionable, but from what I have seen FRES is one of the good ones. Be well, Lorraine (A proud supporter of FRES --The Ferret Rescue and Education Society) [Posted in FML issue 3931]