I read the adoption policies with great interest. It reminded me of an experience I had finding a home for a puppy... Several years ago, my black lab had puppies and I had placed all the puppies in excellent homes... except one. A woman contacted me about adopting the last puppy and we made arrangements for me to come to her house a few days later with the puppy. When I arrived, the woman was sitting on her porch which was right ON the corner of a main intersection. Heck, there was a stoplight right there in front of her house. I had handed her the puppy. There wasn't a blade of grass to be found! This puppy wouldn't have had a yard to play in! When I asked her where this puppy would play, she said she supposed she could tie it up to the front porch! WHen I asked what she planned to feed the puppy, she replied, "Well, whatever is cheapest..." (*sigh*) Then she went on to tell me that she hadn't yet gotten her state check but when she did she'd then have to get her mother to drive her to the store, blah, blah, blah. This woman had made no provisions for this puppy. She had no way to take this puppy to the vet in case of an emergency, she had NO yard (her "yard" was the sidewalk), she planned to feed the puppy whatever was cheapest, she had very small, dirty children. It was the worst imaginable situation! Stupidly, I had already handed her the pup. My heart was wrenching. I knew I couldn't leave this puppy with her... I would die of guilt! Even my 6 year old daughter gave me a look like, "Oh, great Mom! Now what??" Thinking quickly I told the woman that I would like to hold the puppy one more time. She handed it back to me. I held the puppy for a moment and then I said, "You know what? I can't let you have this puppy. I am sorry. You have had several days to make arrangements for it. You don't have a yard for it, you don't have your own transportation in the event of an emergency. You don't have the finances to feed it a healthy diet... This just wouldn't be in the puppy's best interest." With that, I turned around and walked away. My daughter burst into tears of relief! The puppy ended up living with a very nice family on a farm. They had lost their previous dog to OLD AGE. I guess the point is, that even though I am not in the "business" of finding homes for ferrets on a regular basis, I really think it's everyone's responsibility to find the best home possible no matter what kind of animal it is. The stricter the standards, the higher probability of a permanent loving and stable home. I don't mind the strict standards that are upheld by ferret shelters and other animal rescues. As guardians of the animals, we are responsible for them while they are in our care and we are STILL responsible for them when they are placed. Renee [Posted in FML issue 2854]