After reading some of the posts lately about *invasion of privacy* I felt compelled to respond. I have been doing ferret rescue for almost 10 years w/2 different organizations - AZ & now GA. As shelters, please understand our concern for our wards. We regularly take in unwanted ferrets into our homes & care for their every need until we can find loving, permanent homes. We accept unacceptable biters & do our best to rehabilitate them to socially acceptable pets. And we are a haven for neglected & abused ferrets, we nurse them back to health or have them die in our arms. Many will be w/us for the rest of their lives. The icing on the cake are the human idiots we have to deal w/ - day after day after day. Like the woman who called me for 2 *free* ferrets for her daughters - they had to be free because she would be wasting too much money if her daughters didn't take care of them (like they did w/the hamsters) & she had to "get rid of them." Whether or not you agree w/the policies/guidelines of a particular shelter, take a moment & try to understand where these questions come from. Maybe it's because of a call like I got the other night. This woman wanted to "give up" her ferret to a place "where she would be taken care of" because veterinary care would be too expensive. I don't know how she knew that since she had never taken her obviously sick ferret to a vet. I guess she'll do the same to her other 2 when they get sick. Is it too much to ask for a shelter to want to know what kind of a place their fosters - who've become part of their family - will go? Would you drop off any of your pets for boarding w/out checking out the facility? Wouldn't you do your best to insure their care & safety? The ferrets that come into shelters have already been *given up* at least once, sometimes 2 or 3x. I do ask questions that some might consider personal, but I ask their permission to do so before I start. Every question I ask is based on the fact that so many ferrets have been given up for a particular reason. Although I don't inquire about personal finances, I might ask that if faced w/a medical situation, would they be able to handle the responsibility of veterinary care. We also inquire about the family & the knowledge of the person interested in adopting in an attempt to insure that the new parents understand how to properly care for their new pet. Shelters also give you a very complete personality profile on their adoptees. We want to insure that the temperament is complementary to the new home & family. Most shelters require that if for any reason you can not keep who you've adopted, that it be returned to them - try that w/most pet shops. They are also available w/advice about care, veterinary resources, state/local guidelines. You can ask the same question in 5 different stores & get 5 different answers. Most pet stores can't even tell the difference between male or female. One of our biggest problem w/pet stores in GA, is that pet stores tell customers that the 6-8 week old kit has had *its shot* leading to a false impression that no further vaccinations are necessary - ever. Ferrets are living, feeling creatures. I know that ferrets are not in the same category, but do you think you could adopt a child w/out a full personal & financial review. From what we hear in the news about children slipping through the cracks in the adoption system, I think we take a real personal interest, on an individual basis, in the welfare of those in our care. The rescues I bring into my home are no less important to me than my own fur babies. But, if you feel that a shelter's inquiries are too much of an imposition, you can go to pet stores who will sell a ferret to anyone w/the $. But remember, that's why there are so many unwanted ferrets. The majority of people that walk into a store for a pet probably have not taken into consideration the long-term responsibility. Unlike those on this list, they'll probably never take the trouble to learn either. They can just get rid of it if it's a problem or becomes inconvenient. And you can bet, the pet store isn't going to discourage the sale. Every animal a pet store sells enables them to sell another to someone who may not be as concerned w/their welfare as you are. Please don't empower pet stores to continue selling animals to anyone who happens to have a few dollars to blow. From shelters to breeders; supplies to advice, he FML is an invaluable resource for *anything* you need when it comes to ferrets. Thank you again BIG. LONG LIVE KODO Juliana Frodo, Rocks, Anola Gay, SNAFU, FUBAR, Tabu, Chaos, Tuxedo, Bijou, Fiasco, & Dazzle [Posted in FML issue 2154]