Readers Column A Ferret Enrichment Story (but a little too long for the upcoming calendar)  6 years ago today, Rich & I had been living together for about 2 years and were thinking about getting a pet. I'm a cat person, but he's allergic to cats, so that was out. He's very much a dog person, but we couldn't have a dog where we were living. We had fish, which are nice and pretty, but not very interactive. So we had decided on a parrot. P-A-R-R-O-T with a "p"! We'd both had parrots as kids... so I researched for months to find the perfect fit (size, demeanor, talking ability, life span, etc). We wanted to adopt as opposed to buying, so we were basically just waiting for a bird of our preferred breed to show up at a shelter.
Meantime, my parents go to Arizona to visit my little brother at college. On the way home, they stopped at a casino, and my dad won some money playing roulette. Just before crossing the border back into California, they saw the sign for C & D Feed advertising "FERRETS". They promptly did a 180 under my mother's urging "your daughter wants a ferret! we have to go back!". They found biker dude Dennis at C & D, who introduced them to his newest litter of nippy babies. My parents picked out "the smartest looking one" and spent a lot of time discussing the habits and needs of these furry critters. Dennis hooked them up with all sorts of goodies, including the first round of vaccines, a book on ferrets, his birth certificate (the ferrets', not Dennis'), a water bottle, food dish, some food & blankets for the road, and a crate to bring him home in. He then gave them instructions on how to get over the CA/AZ border safely.
As my parents were leaving C & D, they called us to tease that "we got you a surprise!"... and when pressed for information, I was told "it's illegal to own in California"..... Okkkaaay... I followed with "animal, mineral, vegetable?"... my dad would only say that it was a living thing. Rich and I decided it had to be either a Saguaro Cactus or a Desert Tortoise... as this was all we could come up with that would a) come from AZ b) be 'living' and c) be illegal to bring into CA or take out of AZ. When they got to our house with this crate, we knew right away it was not a cactus! When we opened the box, we were shocked to find a mammal inside! (My first thought was, THIS IS NOT A TORTOISE!) I had never seen a ferret, didn't even know what he was.
My mom and dad exclaimed "It's just what you wanted! A Ferret!!!!"
Me: "A what?"
Mom: "A ferret... just like you've been talking about getting for months."
Me: "No mom, a Parrot! P! P like Paul, P like Pirate, P like Please tell me you're kidding."
Rich and I nearly had them take him back to wherever he came from. In the end, we sat through the story of how they got him home, and how great Dennis at C & D was with the babies. Really, it was impossible not to fall in love with him, he was a 6 week old bundle of fur, and so cute.
We named him Harley Dennis, after his "daddy" from C & D - 'Harley' for the fact that he was a biker, and 'Dennis' since that was his name.
We never did get a parrot. My parents chose well - Harley is the SMARTEST animal either of us have ever owned of any kind. (My friends don't like it much when I tell them that my ferret is smarter than their kids, but it's not my fault that it's true!)
We have acquired FIVE MORE Ferrets over the years (all adoptions, rescues or foster-to-can't-give-em-up). Ferret Math. (As far as I know, I don't think PARROT owners have the same issues with arithmetic.)
Lori L
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| Get Ready for the 2011 Legalize Ferrets Calendar  | | the cover from last year's calendar |
With a lot of disappointment we were not able to secure Jamie K to do this year's photo shoot for next year's calendar. We couldn't get into Jamie's busy schedule and one disagreement emerged. Jamie did not want the calendar released prior to sales. Last year I put the whole issue in CLIFFNotes and the web pages. I don't feel we lost any sales and actually I don't care. The calendar was fun, made money and brought new people in.
We are hiring another photographer - to be selected shortly. "What we want to convey is ferrets are fun, they enrich our lives, isn’t it time they were legal in California? That is a lot to ask for a photographer" |
Where the 2010 calendar was about how the ridiculous and unfair ferret ban affects ordinary people, the 2011 calendar has the theme that ferrets are fun, they're part of our families and lives, and it is past time they were legal (as in we've waited long enough). Anyone care to sum that up a bit more succinct? Like our 2010 calendar we need personal stories - how have your ferrets enriched your life? Please write a short story and send in a photo of your ferret(s) and perhaps yourself. Do you have any ideas? What kind of props should we use? One photographer suggested using human models --- we have plenty of people, should be people in the calendar (assuming they aren't afraid of legal consequences)? The photo shoot will probably be on either June 5th or June 12th. The tentative schedule is to do the photos from 3 to 5 pm, then relax and have tacos and margaritas from 5 to 7. The very secret location will only be revealed to CLIFFNotes subscribers, the photographer and who ever brings the tacos (any suggestions on that?)
Legalize Ferrets Revival Update  | Hello! I was reading about the suggestions to make the event better.. Why not have so me people in ferret costume? Im actually working on a ferret fursuit now, which is where the idea came from. Stormy H Great idea! Especially if Joe Ferret makes an appearance |
Sorry - Arnold Can't Make it I know you have all marked you calendar (preferably the legalizeferrets.org calendar) for Saturday September 25th in Concord. Here's the latest. No word from Jerry Brown and we will ask him again when our " Ask Jerry Brown to Support Ferret Legalization" Facebook page has 10,000 fans. We are currently at 649! That's not going to fly. Please ask all your Facebook friends to join. We will ask the Republican nominee after the June primary. I don't have a crystal ball for the November election. Steve Poizner has made some progress but it still looks like Meg Whitman will be the Republican candidate. In what could be a good year for Republicans the Poizner and Whitman campaigns are turning off increasing number of voters because all we see them discuss is what is wrong with the other Republican - not issues relevant to California. The end results is Governor Jerry Brown, friend of the Sierra Club and Audobon Society and we really need to get his attention. C'Mon people - we need to send him another invitation and say "look, 10,000 people like this!" The video is still on track - Todd Dayton, our videographer had these reassuring words about the production: 
"I saw your newsletter -- not sure if you're really worried about the outline/script or just playing to your audience, but rest assured, we'll talk it through as the date approaches and come up with something that works for both of us. I just wanted to make sure that you would really give some thought to what you want before we get started so that I can deliver the best video possible."
The speakers confirmed so far are Jeanne Carley, Bob Church and Rene Gandolfi. If we can not get either Jerry Brown or Meg Whitman/Steve Poizner to at least issue a statement on ferret legalization - Joe Ferret might make an appearance and announce his write-in campaign for Governor (would that get the media attention?) We have some inkling of some celebrity support but too early to announce anything. It is going to be a very exciting event. The full schedule will be ready July 1st.
The Orange County ran a story on May 20th about small non-profits and IRS requirements and picked up on the ferret issue as an odd twist to the story. Tax deductions for illegal critters - only in America. Still good publicity, the article referred people to ferret websites - so we're happy. Good work OC Ferrets!
Speaking of Orange County Ferret Non Profits - good timing Anita! Please support California Domestic Ferret Educational Alliance (CDFEA) and stop by their booth at their upcoming event. The Orange County Super Pet Adoption Irvine Animal Care Center 6443 Oak Canyon Road
Irvine, CA 92618 Sunday, June 6th 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 949.724.7745 About 40 pet rescue groups and shelters will bring more than 500 homeless animals for adoption, including lots of puppies and kittens. Vladae "The Russian Dog Wizard" will be the celebrity guest trainer and will be giving behavior demonstrations and offering free training advice. There will be a great silent auction, food, vendors, discount microchips, a raffle, and an "Ask the Vet" booth. Snoopy, the official greeter, will be giving away discount coupons to Knott's Berry Farm. Hope to see you there.
A Recommendation  This a great price of you could post it on CLIFFNotes, it would let people know where to get this at a good price.Tina.
In Conclusion - Again - so much going on! Ferret Calendar, Revival, Video, Elections. And most important of all the Ferret Legalization Environmental Impact Report. We are more than three-quarters done with the ground work and hopefully can file the actual report. So thanks so much for continuing to support the legalization effort in California with your ideas, enthusiasm, memberships and donations! |
