Dear All, The phone rang at 7:45am yesterday. I hadn't even had my first cup of coffee. I need coffee in the morning, a whole pot of it! So, I look at the caller id and it's Anne Arundel Co Animal Control. Oh good grief! I pick up the phone and without even saying "hello", I say, "You'd better not be calling me to come pick up ferrets!" You see, I like to operate my shelter with a max of 40, and we were already up to 57. So I hear laughing on the other end of the phone, and the woman, Sherri, says to me, "Barb, we did a bust last nite on a collector, and we have 15 ferrets. They were all living in a pen in this roach infested house. They're in bad shape." My response, "I'll be there to get them". I get there and am briefed about the situation. Seems a Sheriff was at a Laurel Maryland residence to serve a summons, and saw animals, lots of them, and filth and the stench that goes with a house full of animals uncared for. The Sheriff then called in Animal Control. Seems they intervened on a couple doing a scam for money. They confessed to searching Craigslist, Free Cycle, Petfinder and local papers for free or cheap ferrets, and other animals. They would get them, and then re-post them for sale. Greed, this is all about some nasty, inhumane folks trying to make a buck. We then go to the kennel area to load up the ferrets, and it was emotional for me. Nearly all of these ferrets had obviously been starved. There was one, year old boy that wasn't skin and bones. So often in rescue the ferrets look fine, and that's because their fur can give the appearance of being healthy. In this case, they were severely malnourished insomuch as most of them had rib cages showing, their eyes were sunken. They were unable to walk, with most having nails so long they curled under. Angered, I asked if charges were made against the couple, and I was told no. I understood the explanation; It simply wouldn't have been a case that the States Attorney could have won. The woman and man could swear that they got these animals in this condition, and there were no witnesses to tesify otherwise. OK, so I'm now very angry, and the legal side of my brain was working overtime. I asked why they were not charged with operating an illegal unlicensed pet store in the State of Md. That suggestion seemed to have given the officer an "AHA" moment. He then said that they had the right to do a followup, and that they would. In essence, what was accomplished was that the officers removed from the property all animals that were not re-saleable, in general, really had no value to the perps. I have no doubt that this couple felt great about it, and immediately went back to searching the free lists for more victims. Greed, this was all about greed. It's not just my shelter, Rocky's, that's overwhelmed here in Maryland, Claudia (Oxford) and Nancy (The Ferret Inn) are too. We're in no position to be contacting these lists daily and taking in the free ferrets. Not being able to save the world is a hard pill to swallow. With shelters full, and folks put on waiting lists, I understand why folks are listing their unwanted pets on these sites. I just wished that they all knew the possibilities, as I just experienced. These ferrets I have are the survivors. I have no doubt that many died before them. Thanks to volunteers Nikki and Jason for answering my 911 call for help. They met me back at the farm and we managed to assess, name and get these kids into comfort and full food bowls. There is one one year old boy, and the rest range from 2.5 - 6 years. If you have a spot in your heart for older needy kids, please send me an adoption application. Here are some pics of these ferrets, but holding them is truly more revealing than the pics. <http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v215/Alphajill/Anne%20Arundel%20Co%20Sept%2008/> [Moderator's note: Seems like a password is required. BIG] Thanks to the ever vigil corporate angel of all shelters, Totally Ferret. Upon hearing about these kids they immediately shipped out some older formula for them. Bless you April and Liz, and all the good folks at TF! I don't know what we can do to stop greedy collectors like this. If you have the time, check these lists and warn those folks about scams like this, and ask them to do a home inspection before giving away their pets to strangers for free. Oh, one more thing; The perps last name is Dennis and they live in Laurel, MD. Go and warn the world! er, ok, let's just start with Maryland. Affectionately, Barb Clay Dir of Shelter Affairs for Rocky's www.rockysferrets.com OKTOBERFEST October 18th - Y'all Come http://rockysferrets.com/events/of/oktoberfest.html [Posted in FML 6104]