PetSmart selling FERRETS!!

I had heard rumors that this may happen, well, in some parts of the country it has. I haven't been to our local PetSmart.

The reasoning behind is something like this, there are not that many ferrets in shelters, and we don't have that many adoptions through our charities programs to warrant not selling them.

Hey isn't the whole idea to find homes for the homeless animals? Not numbers? Who is to say there are enought adoptions? Who chooses the nubmer? Who is to say cats and dogs are not next?

Ferret shetlers in general are treated as second class citizens, but that is another post.

Gee, to be a participant in the PetSmart Charities you have to be 501 (c) (3), not a big deal for this shelter, but there are other shelters that do rescue of ferrets that are not, and do not know how to become 501 (c)(3) or cannot afford to pay an accountant to do the work for them. (The main reason we are is I have a bean counter type mentality, and figured that if I read the forms often enough, I'd get it done. Took a couple of years of reading filling forms out, and calling the IRS with TONS of questions)

We used to try to do the adoptathons, (I still do when I can) but we do not adopt on the spot, that is no better than selling in the store, there is our adoption form, and we try to give the good and bad about ferrets. They are not perfect for everyone, and it is better to have a person decide they are not the right pet, rather then adopt one out just to have it come back a month later.

We have gotten good adotions through our Ed Days, but people don't want to go out of their way and go back to PetSmart for paperwork, and to be honest, I don't either. I don't have the time. When you spend two hours or so with a family that adopts, which is time very well spent, the last thing on your mind at 8:30 PM when they leave is what is for dinner that is quick and not a hamburger?

What they fail to see is that 99% of the ferret shelters are not staffed. And the volunteer base is smaller than any of the cat/dog rescue shelters they deal with. Most ferret shelters consider themselves lucky if they have two regular volunteers twice a month!

Shelters are given PetSmart cards, your adoptions add up and they give you so much in credit to be used in their stores. Which is good, but what happens if they don't carry what the shelter really needs? What happens if the shelter needs to build up their medical fund, or needs things that they don't have? Like ink for the printer and paper for all the stuff we hand out, or syringes, or distemper vaccines?

Doing Education days or adopathons can get expensive, and you need people to be there. If there were some way, and we had the knowledgeable man power, we could do education at 4 PetSmarts in the area. Every month.

Education days cost money. You go with brochures, tons of information, (which gets printed in house on the Canon i860, which is a great printer by the way, and we should add one of those to our wish list, cause this one is SO abused by the amount of printing we do), not to mention the paper.

Most ferret shelters do not have enough volunteers to do this every Saturday. And it is not right to expect them to do it every Saturday or Sunday. (I do not do anything on Sunday other than play with the ferrets, and make sure they are ok, it is the only day during the week I get with my husband).

Ok, here is what I would appreciate from all of you, email them, call them, fill their email with letters that show how disappointed you are that they are not keeping with the original PetSmart idea of putting companion animals first.

Be polite, be nice, but let them know you are unhappy.

Stop shopping PetSmarts, both on line and in your city. Ferret owners can make a difference.

Here is the contact information:

PETsMART.com
For questions regarding PETsMART.com:
Email cs@petsmart.com
Call us at (888) 839-9638
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 11p.m. or Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. EST
Or write to: PETsMART.com 1989 Transit Way PO Box 910 Brockport, NY 14420-0910

PETsMART Stores
For questions regarding PETsMART Stores:
Email storehelp@petsmart.com
Call us at (800) 738-1385 ext. 2518
Or write to: PETsMART, Inc. Attention: Customer Service 19601 North 27th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85027