Reader Column

This picture came in as "Ollie's Dreamland" - but it looks to me that Ollie has partied a little too hard.

Hello I was wondering if you or any others on CLIFFNotes had any good techniques or methods on introducing ferrets. I already owned my two girls when I came across two female ferrets for adoption, so I adopted them. The problem is the two that I adopted were not well taken care of and not handled correctly, basically they had an extremely hard life. I really want them to get along with my two previous ferrets but nothing I am trying is working. I would love to hear from anyone who has any good tips or methods because I would love for them all to get along....but either way Im going to keep them they deserve it!
- Tiffany

We get this a lot and I will run the answers next week. And this is a good segue to another letter:

What are your plans if the EIR comes out against what we're hoping-- the support that the ferret will be seen favorably? Also, how can we deal with the public's impulsive nature when it comes to the next new furry fad pets they hear or see on TV? My worries as a vet tech are exponential when I see people somehow mess up taking care of the simplest of pets like the cat and dog. Never mind mind how these people will react when they hear about ferrets being "ok after all". I've seen the worst cases of neglect on easy to care for animals, and don't want to see my precious ferrets part of the Californian curse of ignorance. At least with them illegal, we know those dedicated to keeping them healthy and happy right now are those responsible enough to know how to take care of them correctly because they are willing to risk so much to be owners. Might it be easier to attack the part of the system that keeps responsible people from getting the proper permits to own them rather than allowing free access to a delicate and misunderstood creature (in most public views). Just giving you another viewpoint.

Lastly,
I wanted to also share that I have an adrenal ferret who we are supplementing with melatonin, hoping that could stave off surgery. Wondering what others' luck has been with the melatonin and/or the Lupron depot injections? And if so where they received non-surgical treatment? "All pets" hospital out here by LA says they only do routine ferret vaccinations and simple exams, no complex disease processes.

Thanks again for dedication,
Morgan

Morgan - I have no doubt that if done properly, the EIR will prove that ferrets are safe in California just as they are everywhere else.

But your second part, impulse purchases of ferrets does concern me. Recently I've had someone who bought a ferret not knowing they were carnivores and someone who rescued their ferret who was stuck in a bird cage by an irresponsible sister. Some people shouldn't have ferrets - but some people shouldn't have kids.

3 + 3 = 8

As of Friday morning, we had just three little trouble makers. As of Friday afternoon, we had SIX! A friend of ours, to whom these 3 extra belong, and his girlfriend both lost their jobs recently and had to move back in with their parents. Neither could take the 3 carpet sharks, so they asked us to babysit. Has anyone else noticed that ferret poop multiplies exponentially? Mathematically, it makes zero sense, but it's true! We are now cleaning litter boxes three times a day, if not more. We are working on getting our two girls to make friends with our guests, which is alternately hilarious and stressful. One of the girls, their dominant, most likely has adrenal disease (swollen vulva), but is otherwise happy and healthy-acting. Their boy is named Chomper, guess why? LOL. Life's what happens when you make other plans :)
Harley, Phoebe, Stella (the OG fuzzies) and Chomper, Faux-bie and The Black One.

Lori

I just referred someone near you who needs a long time foster for two ferrets, Lori. Sleep well at night!

182 Calendars Sold This Week

The goal was to sell 300 calendars, so at least we know we don't set our goals too low. But we sold enough calendars to have the order sent to the printer and hopefully we can ship them all in two weeks.

To view the entire calendar, which has some slight revisions since last week, click here.

Three people, including the photographer Jamie K mentioned to me that people could simply download the calendar since we put the whole thing on the Internet. What is on our web pages is a 72 dpi, low resolution version. The printed version will be much sharper and the print quality top-notch, definitely worth the $12. So if you haven't ordered yours yet, please go to our merchandise page and order away!

This calendar has been one of the most enjoyable projects I've done ferret-wise. I hope Jamie is up for a 2011 calendar. Perhaps we can do another photo shoot in another part of the state for the next calendar. We've had some creative disagreements, many revisions, a few setbacks, but it brought people together in a fun and creative project. My sincere appreciation to Jamie and our graphic artist Heidi Ames.

We are going to need to sell 400 calendars to break even. They will be on Amazon, Ferret Depot, eBay and anywhere else anyone can recommend. Hello veterinarians out there - can we sell them at your offices?

One Good Design Deserves Another

King Kong

This artwork above is the first artwork Ferrets Anonymous ever did, back around 1988. It was taken from a drawing done by the Salt Lake City ferret club as they worked to get their city to legalize ferrets. We sold 500 of these t-shirts and made $5 bucks per shirt, not bad!

Besides needing to redo the artwork, we need to redo the print below the artwork. The text accompanying the artwork originally said:

"Our pets are safe... It's our government that's dangerous!!!

Not only did we get complaints about that - but shortly thereafter, Timothy McVeigh blew up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. - Who can come up with a new caption? There's a 2010 LegalizeFerrets.org calendar in it for the winner!

Some Concerns About Bad Literature

Besides surveying all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces, the EIR will have to contend with a literature review. And there's been lots of bad literature published about "blood-sucking, baby-eating ferrets.) This is not a joke, it's in Pet European Ferrets, A Hazard to Public Health, Small Livestock and Wildlife, published by the California Department of Health Services and referenced in CLIFFNotes many times.

We carried this small blurb last week:

A little research by a member discovered that is suspected the parents were not home at the time, they were out getting high. Drugs were later found in the home. The ferret was left alone in the house with no food and no water. We should get more conclusive results later.

Bonnie T. sent us a whole slew of negative articles saying this is what we will have to contend with:

THE EUROPEAN FERRET, MUSTELA PUTORIUS, (FAMILY MUSTELIDAE) ITS PUBLIC HEALTH, WILDLIFE AND AGRICULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

And here's the Weekly World New's contribution:

There are more articles - but you get the point. Big Foot made the front page of this particular issue of Weekly World News. The credibility of both articles are about even.

But from the state of California to shoddy journalism from the folks at Weekly World News the EIR could bring an unwanted review of bad science/journalism.

In Conclusion

Welcome our new readers. If you bought a calendar - you're getting CLIFFNotes. A lot of people from out of California were kind enought to support our efforts and bought calendars. If you wish to unsubscribe, feel free to do so. But I hope you enjoy reading about California's ferret antics.

I did speak to the people at Ferret.com. They asked for all the info regarding a contribution to support the EIR. Our first quarterly bill is due shortly. I'm anxious because it comes with a progress report. The terms are net 30. I hope we sell a lot of calendars - or expect some pleading to cover the cost. Marshall Pet Products is going to cover $1600, we need to raise the other $1600.

How exciting to get this off the ground - but a little nerve racking, too.

Thanks for your support - please continue to send in your comments, photos and what have you to make this a better CLIFFNotes.

Pat Wright

CLIFFNotes@legalizeferrets.org

(619) 303-0645

Post Script - Lance went through this edition and suggested showing the "bad literature" part may do more harm than good. We have somewhat of a difference of opinion and we are out of time. But what is your opinion - do you want to read this kind of material or should we keep it more positive?