Ten Newest Members of the 3000 Club
625. TallMax, Los Osos CA
624. Msav, Manteca CA
623. J2Bandit, Stanton CA
622. D, Inc., Riverside CA
621. Myriam & Nathalie Davis, Fullerton CA
620. Val C, Soquel CA
619. Jerryventura, Ventura CA
618. Dr. John Silver, Los Angeles CA
617. jonsikay, Fulton CA
616. OttyandBella4me, Ashland OR
Eeks! no new members in a week? Someone, Join today!
Vol 3 No 37, September 14th, 2008
Member Submissions
ferrets make some people very happy!
My experience with the Department of Fish and Game and my ferret. Although I would not recommend doing what I didit was the ONLY option I considered.
The DFG knocked on my front door after receiving a tip that I had a ferret. They explained that ferrets where illegal in California and asked if they could see her. I asked what would happen if I said No, the officer responded that he would return with a warrant and police officer. I opened the door and pointed to her home. The officer then said that he could either take her with him or give me 4 weeks to ship her out of the state and provide a bill of shipping, he also explained that it was very expensive to ship a live animal and that he recommend that I surrender her to him. At this point my 2 daughters and I were very upset and crying. I exclaimed that this is pathetic and he responded this is just my job to that I replied well your job sucks and I would quit if I were you. He then handed me a paper that I glanced at through tear filled eyes and explained that after I shipped her that I should fax the bill of shipping to him and if he did not receive it by the appointed date he would return for her. That was not an option! I made some calls to friends and asked if necessary could I hide her away at their house.all of whichresponded YES, of course! I considered making a bill of shipping on my computer and faxing it, but I did not want to get myself into more trouble. So the day before the officer was to return for the seizure I took my fuzzie over to a trusted friends house and returned to await his arrival. I planned to tell him that I had a friend from Vegas picked her up. I was not sure nor did I care whether or not he believed me as I did not have the ferret or the bill of shipping. To my shock but also relief, he never returned. I waited 2 weeks and brought my fuzzie back home. I never heard from DFG again. I later found out I was turned in by an ex boyfriend.
This story does not have the happy ending it appears though. Since ferrets are illegal, when my fuzzie came down with an illness that caused hair loss on her rear end and tail I could not find any local vets that would treat her or even see her. When I finally did find one in Los Angeles (200 miles away) I took her and I was told she had a tumor on her adrenal gland and it would require surgery costing close to $1500 dollars and that was only due to the fact that she was an illegal/exotic animal. She did live for 4 years after that and eventually passed away in my arms in 2004. I have kept her cage, all her toys and hammock, however, I will not get another one until they are legal.
I was told the growth was caused by a lack of Melatonin from the lack of normal daylight and nighttime cyclesthis was caused because since my scare with DFG I kept her cage in a closet in case they ever returned, even though the door was constantly open and she was allowed out of her cage daily for playtime she still was not able to receive proper light cycles. RIP Shelby. we miss you.
Our Favorite Photo
At the recent Superzoo show in Las Vegas, from left to right, Tonya Kohl and Mike Liseno of Marshall Pet Products presents Bonnie T (who was representing the San Diego Chapter of Ferrets Anonymous, that runs LegalizeFerrets.org) with a check for $1,000. WooHoo! Thank you Marshall Pet Products!
Marshall Pet Products is also donating the door prize for the Oct 11th Legalize Ferrets Revival in San Diego.
Legalize Ferrets Revival III - October 11th in San Diego
A New Direction in Ferret Legalization
I'm very excited to see how the next Legalize Ferrets Revival is going, it should be significant because we want to use it to open doors for new support, both from individuals and corporations. Not only is the Marshall Farms support so great - we hope it will prompt other corporate donors! And with the link we have to the California Domestic Ferret Educational Alliance - an official 501 (c) 3, donations towards ferret education of the public can be tax deductible.
I have hired a video company to tape Dr Graening's talk on the Environmental Impact Report and we will post it on our websites and on YouTube. We hope to show the world that we are serious about an EIR and we're doing exactly what has been asked of us by Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Department of Fish and Game.
The Revival has other great speakers and events as well. Corporate communicator Milo Shapiro (that's a first for one of our meetings!) is speaking as well as leading ferret vet Dr Jeff Jenkins, Lance M. - President of Ferrets Anonymous and local candidates for state assembly and state senate have also been invited.
We mailed out 2,900 flyers for the Revival and I am trying to get even more publicity out there for this event. The San Diego Union Tribune will list the event in the pet section and I'm attempting to have the event listed in the San Diego Reader. If anyone has any connections, please let me know!
Register now at http://www.ferretsanon.com/revival3.html
Don't Forget the Ferret Legalization Ride in El Cajon!
Proceeds of this charity event will benefit:
CDFEA - California Domestic Ferret Educational Alliance - CDFEA is a 501(c)3 non profit corporation dedicated to education. Your donations are tax deductible
Ride Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008
Alternative Rain Date: Saturday, October 4, 2008
Registration: Starts @ 10:00 a.m.
Ride Starts: @ 11:30 a.m.
Entry Fee: $15.00 per rider & $10.00 per passenger
Entry Fee for Non-Riders: $15.00 @ Kennedy Park in El Cajon - 1 p.m.
CHP Confiscates Ferret in Fresno
We received a call from John M. of Fresno. He was stopped by the CHP in Fresno for not wearing a seatbelt. The CHP called Animal Control to confiscate the ferrets that were in his car. This is a first for us, as this is virtually unheard of. Hopefully the ferrets are safe and on their way to Nevada, but be careful out there! It seems like the nanny state has gone crazy!
Update on Clifford
Last week, while finishing up CLIFFNotes a call came in about a ferret found in someone's backyard and attacked by two dogs. Being a Sunday I had to get him to an emergency vet, so off he went to the Pet Emergency Specialty Center in La Mesa, where Dr Cecil, well known to us and vice-versa has an exotics animal practice.
At first Clifford's condition didn't seem too bad, just a puncture wound and some bruising. But when an X-ray was done on Monday there was swelling around the spinal cord and Dr Cecil gave me a grim assessment. But by Tuesday morning, Clifford was doing better.
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| left photo shows nasty puncture wound, on the right, Cliff takes it easy. | |
Cliff is being fostered by Rebecca, who reports: "Clifford is doing so much better! His medicine is just knocking him out cold, but when he's up, he's pretty active. We call him "Speed Racer" now, cos I swear you look away for one minute and he's on mission to the other side of the room! He's still trying to use his right leg, but not much progress."
Clifford's hospital bill came to $447. Rebecca donated $100 and so far we have collected another $45. Any size contribution is appreciated. You can read more on Cliff at http://www.ferretsanon.com/Clifford.html
To donate - any amount appreciated please click below: To view Cliff's MySpace page, click here
Update on Pat L and her 5 Ferrets
An email went out to part of this list, those of you associated with the San Diego Chapter of Ferrets Anonymous regarding Pat L and her five ferrets. Pat's significant other (Andy) is hospitalized, they aren't married - its a family drama... Pat and ferrets are now homeless. Pat did make it to Washington state to be with her sister and her five ferrets have been placed in homes. Andy is now out of critical care and is doing better than expected. Thanks to everyone who offered their help and good wishes.
Letters to Legislators - Finally Going Out!
There are 270 people running for state assembly or state senate in California. I have the list! We are going to ask these people a very simple question - if we produce an Environmental Impact Report showing no ecological impact from ferret legalization would they support a bill to legalize ferrets next year. Their responses will go on our website.
Would anyone like to help me get these letters out Wednesday night (Sept 17th) ? I will do a Word merge, print matching envelopes and send them out. The one thing is feeding envelopes in my printer one at a time.
I live in La Mesa - please let me know if you'd like to help.
Pat
Ferret Frolic/ Open House
Presented By: Ferrets With Soul(E) Rescue/Shelter
September 20th, 2008
Noon 4pm
$1 Admission Per Person/ Ferret
$1 Donation Per Ferret Each Game Or A $20 Family Pass*
California Domestic Ferret Educational Alliance Booth
On October 11th and 12th California Domestic Ferrets Educational Alliance will be hosting a space at the First Annual Pet Days. It will run alongside the ever so popular swap meet at the Orange County Fairgrounds and Marketplace. Please come and join us. Stop by and support ferret enthusiasts in your area, pick up some literature, exchange ideas, sign up to join your local ferret chapter.
Ferrets Are More Fun Photos - Not Working Out
Our appeal for high resolution photos to place ferrets around the letters "Ferrets Are More Fun" didn't pan out as we got perfectly posed ferrets. Folks, we need action shots! Try to get some photos of your ferrets in motion. Keep the background simple. Send the photos to Heidi our graphic artist at heidi@hihodesign.com. If we don't have enough photos after the meeting October 11th, I'm going to hire a photographer and we're going to do a shoot! One way or the other we are going to get these photos done!
In Conclusion
A lot of things happening in the weeks ahead. How exciting that finally we may be getting off the ground with the EIR. If you haven't made your reservations for the Legalize Ferrets Revival - please do so. I think this is going to be an historic meeting and you won't want to miss it! http://www.ferretsanon.com/revival3.html
Subscriptions to CLIFFNotes continues to grow but donations have gone down. I know the economy is in the tank. I've been unemployed most of this year and now the staffing companies are starting to lay their own people off and go out of business. While CLIFFNotes is free, memberships and contributions are greatly appreciated.
Check out our vet page. In our spare time we are going to mail all the vets. We've added and updated a number of them. If your vet isn't on the page or we don't have complete info, please let me know. http://www.ferretsanon.com/vets.php
Thank you,
Pat Wright
CLIFFNotes Editor
CLIFFNotes@legalizeferrets.org
(619) 303-0645
Lance M.
Founder, OCFerrets /
President, Ferrets Anonymous
Website: http://www.ocferrets.org/
OCF Email: info@ocferrets.org
(949) 303-8481
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