In response to those who don't understand why shelter operators and others are so unhappy with PetSmart: I am copying here my original letter to PetSmart as it didn't come through as an attachment when I first sent it to FML. I was not impolite and I did not try to bully anyone. However, I invite you who think that it's perfectly fine to replace compassion with the profit motive, as seems to be happening frequently these days, to come and take a few of our foundlings home with you. How many would you like? And how many hours a week can I count on your volunteer help? Or maybe you would like to foster a few of the elders who came to us when their vet care became more than someone wanted to pay. If none of this suits you feel free instead to send a tax deductible check to: Kansas City Ferret Hotline Assoc. and Shelter 904 E. 28th St. Kansas City, MO 64109 I, and the ferrets, will even thank you for it. Bobbi McC. Shelter Directress (and still pissed off). Phillip L. Francis Chairman and Chief Executive Officer PetsMart, Inc. Dear Mr.Francis, As the director of an urban shelter for European Domestic Ferrets I am writing to plead with you not to sell ferrets in your stores. Although we are a 501c3, non-profit organization, our usual census of 40 to 50 ferrets consistently threatens to overwhelm our budget and our all-volunteer staff's energy. All but about 5% of our foundlings came from pet stores originally. People with the best of intentions buy them for fun, for their kids, or just because they are cool. Then they get tired of cleaning cages, tired of the inevitable vet bills, or just plain bored with these innocent little creatures and they dump them on us. We appreciate the supportive way in which your retail store staff have made space for us so that we might educate people about the responsibilities, and the joys, of ferret ownership. We try to spend an afternoon a month at your Bannister store in Kansas City, MO and you have helped us find homes for more than 10% of our shelter population. For these reasons we recommend your stores to the hundreds of people who contact us each year. If you begin to retail ferrets we will no longer be able to do this. A policy of retailing ferrets represents an insensitivity to the existence and needs of our foundlings Thank you for your attention to my concerns. I sincerely hope that you will consider the negative effects a decision to sell ferrets will have on the shelter community. Dr. Bobbi McCanse KC Ferret Hotline and Shelter 904 E. 28th St. Kansas City, MO 64109 816-842-3707 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 4705]