A day or two ago, Sandi said to use pet supply stores instead of pet stores for your pet supplies and said something to the effect that there's "one in your town". I get very very tired of people assuming that all ferret owners live in or close to urban areas. Not all of us do. I don't have a pet supply store in my town, and we ARE *the* town for, oh, at least an hour's drive from the next. We're *LUCKY* to have a pet store at all...and it's certainly not much of one, mostly just an extension of a groomer's business...they sell *one* brand of food, *no* ferret supplies, and the usual assortment of fish, rodents, and reptiles, as well as a few birds. I've talked to them about special orders. They have no extra storage room, and their supplier won't send them one or two items...but of course, even if I *could* be getting ferret supplies through them, I would be supporting what Sandi seems to feel is a near evil occupation. I am disabled, I can't spend hours and hours driving around an unfamiliar town for which I have no way of getting information for what's there, just *hoping* to find a pet supply store. I buy my ferret supplies at PetCo. I don't like buying mail-order, for a variety of reasons that I won't go into here. One option that people may want to consider: my vet (who is just over an hour drive away in any case), will order items for me. But their supplier doesn't carry everything...H harnesses for example. BUT not everyone's vet will do that...the local vet here won't, the very good vet that I used to go to before I moved wouldn't. So that's not an option for everyone. PLEASE, *STOP* make vilifying statements like was made...not all of use have options...for stores, for vets, for a *LOT* of things that I've seen many blanket statements about since subscribing. Not everyone lives in or close to urban areas folks! And I've talked to a few ferret owners who won't participate in things like this discussion list because many times they've felt that that's all the lists are geared toward, and object strongly to the implication that everyone has the same opportunities for their ferrets and ferret supplies. It isn't so. Mail order? As I said, there are many many reasons, both good and bad for not using mail order, it is not a crime, nor should there be *any* implication that it is. Sue [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 2679]