>Once again, the hostile responses (not the reasonable disagreements) to >Bob Church's shelter post say more about the respondents than about the >original post. Surely we can agree that there are some shelter operators >that fit my above-mentioned description (and Bob Church's). And if there >are, how can it be wrong to broach a discussion on how to solve the >problem? I have been sitting on the sidelines and watching the shelter discussion since shortly after it began, and hoping that once the emotions die off a rational dialogue can develop. I do have to say that I am not at all surprised at the hostility with which Bob's original post was greeted. While his post raised some very good points, it was badly worded. What the hostile responses to Bob's post says about the respondents is only that the respondents are human beings prone to all the human weaknesses and strengths that make us such complex creatures. Even the most self confident of humans has feelings of insecurity and self doubts. And an overly generalized criticism of some unnamed shelters from someone who enjoys such a high degree of respect from the ferret community can trigger those normally dormant feelings of insecurity and fan them into angry responses. It is normal human behavior for humans to react angrily when they feel (rightly or wrongly) that they have been accused of doing wrong. One of the most important things I ever learned in my studies of human psychology was passed along by a very wise professor -- "Perceptions are more real than reality." The hostile reactions are a living proof of that axiom. Bob's post contained very general observations, and others perceived his post as a criticism of their practices, resulting in normal and even predictable reactions. One of the points that has yet been raised yet, is about the use of the word "shelter" to describe the function in which the various individuals and groups are involved. Over the years, as I have gotten to know more and more shelter operators, I have come to realize that although they may all call themselves ferret shelters, these different people see their functions very differently. I know some shelters who accept only ill, older, or abused ferrets in order to provide them with a more loving environment, and proper care. I know other shelters who try to adopt out incoming ferrets as quickly as possible. I even know of a shelter that actively tries to avoid actually taking ferrets in, preferring to match potential adoptees with people looking to adopt out their ferrets. Some shelters refuse to pay a dime to the people looking to unload their unwanted ferrets, while other shelters will ransom a ferret in order to give it protection. Some shelters are almost flamboyant, while others prefer to stay low key. Who is to say which method is right, and which is wrong? The bottom line is that the people who start and continue to run shelters all have the best interests of the ferrets at heart -- as they see it (again, those pesky perceptions coming into play). Any discussions of shelter operations needs to take into account the varied visions of how the shelter operators themselves see their mission -- and not what we perceive their mission to be. I suspect that once that is done, we will just how vague the term "shelter" actually is. Perhaps, we need to add some new words to the ferret community vocabulary to more accurately describe what the various "shelters" actually do. Scott and the Mustilid Mob [Posted in FML issue 2519]