89 Frozen Ferrets Found in Home

AP ^ | 01/30/2008

[Responsibility2nd]

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Authorities removed nearly 200 animals from a Virginia Beach home, including 89 frozen ferret carcasses. Police spokeswoman Margie Long said animal control agents found more than 100 live ferrets, a dog, a bird and three cats, most of them suffering from dehydration and malnutrition.

Long said the frozen bodies of 89 ferrets, a cat, a rat and an otter were discovered in freezers in the house and garage.

Sixty-one of the live ferrets had to be euthanized because of poor health.

[Responsibility2nd]

Frozen Ferrets, eh?

[abner]

They must have a hippogriff out back.

[chaos_5]

Where’s Huckabee, I think them good eat’n!

[Army Air Corps]

Ferretsicles.

[rintense]

Aw. I used to have a ferret. She was awesome. Played with my cats and attacked my dog.

[Hot Tabasco]

89 frozen ferret carcasses

Do they taste like squirrel?

Maybe they were destined for a Huckabee fund raising dinner..........

[Responsibility2nd]

"Don't Freeze me, bro!"

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Or for stoat sandwiches.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Here’s what they intended for these animals;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_u7VGiMO0U

[Free Vulcan]

More than 100 live ferrets. The smell must have been ungodly.

[Blue State Insurgent]

Letting animals die of dehydration is cruel but forcing Terri Shiavo to die of thirst was humane, don’t you know?

[enraged]

89 frozen ferrets, you take one down pass it around.....

88 frozen ferrets

[spokeshave]

Y2K BBQ Bump

[x]

Now that Giuliani’s out these ferret-fanciers are coming out of the woodwork ...

[SonnyBubba]

Ferrets, the other yellow meat.

[SonnyBubba]

Ferrets, the other yellow meat.

[Stoat]

Or for stoat sandwiches.

"cough"

Ummm....I hope not......

[Hot Tabasco]

I used to have a ferret.

I actually found one when I was thinking about purchasing one. This was not long after Michigan made it legal to own them.

I lived in an apartment building and found it in the surrounding bushes while I was washing my car. I took it in with the intention of keeping it since I knew who the original owner was. He was a bandanna clad punk (aka gangsta) who live in the next building and it was obvious it had escaped.

I tried to shampoo the odor off it for the entire weekend and had to keep picking up poops so that was when I decided that a ferret was not for me.

At that time ferret rescue stations were being established knowing that initial owners may be disenchanted with them as pets and found a vet hospital within a mile from my employer. So the following Monday I took it to the vet rather than return it to its original owner...........

They definitely are cute tho.....

[Ace's Dad]

They must have a hippogriff out back.

One of Hermione's best lines ever: "C'mon Buckbeak, come get the nice dead ferret"! Or in this case, frozen ferret. Doesn't excuse the POS that did this, though.

[MediaMole]

Here’s a more detailed article...

http://www.wavy.com/global/story.asp?s=7791942

The best line “...a few may have passed away.”

[Bean Counter]

As bad as this sounds, it can be much worse... Last January there was a ferret rescue in Ohio that reclaimed 650 live ferrets from a breeder who let things get away from him in a big way. He had over 800 ferrets on site, living outdoors in an open shed. The poop under the cages was 2 feet deep. As it turned out, the nationwide ferret rescue system fired up and distributed those fuzzies (under the supervision of a number of vets) around the country. We adopted one of those rescue babies ourselves, and "Pandamonium" is now the fourth addition to our boodle here...

[dadgum]

On a stick?

[Tall_Texan]

Another Earth Mother cat lady type no doubt.

[Bender2]

You do know how to call a ferret, don't you? You... just put your lips together and blow.

Don't get me... started!

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“89 Frozen Ferrets Found in Home”

... some people collect stamps. Some collect __________

[Responsibility2nd]

On a serious note.

My 15 year old daughter wants a ferret. real bad.(Unfrozen, of course.)

Not me! We have a cat. And a dog. And I don’t like rats (ferrets).

Is there a good reason, I should change my mind and get a weasel. er, I mean ferret?

[toddlintown]

They’re good with Guinness.

[stlnative]

I had one when I was in my early 20’s. (I could not stand the smell of it even after I de-scented it)
If you like the smell of a musky animal (even if you de-scent it they still stink), then go ahead and get one. (the smell reminds me of an old wet musty basement).
Also almost every one of them need to be caged when unsupervised or they will tear up things.

They are cute but they need much more care and supervision that a cat or dog.

[04-Bravo]

Somehow, I think Johnny Carson and his writers would have had fun with this topic.

[stlnative]

that = than

[Cold Heart]

They should have stopped counting at fifty five.

[diverteach]

Years back I had a room mate who kept a single ferret in his room inside an old aquarium for a cage. He was lazy keeping the thing clean and when the stank began to leave the confines of his room into the rest of the house I started hounding him to get things cleaned up or I’d set the thing outside on the porch.

Days went by without action still so I kept true to my word and set the old aquarium with the ferret in it on the back porch. Wasn’t a very good idea. The sun gleaning through the glass cooked the ferret and all the other nastiness inside.

[Iluvpopcrn]

LOL That’s terrific!!!

[null and void]

You take one down and pass it around 88 Frozen Ferrets on the wall...

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Ooops! Not you, Stoat (it’s the other, bad stoats).

[Bean Counter]

Ferrets are almost a lifestyle choice like few other pets are. I find there are a lot of misconceptions about ferrets and a lot of people end up abandoning them because they are not ready to support a ferret.

First, the smell. Like any animal, ferrets do have a distinct aroma, that is especially nasty in a dirty cage. It takes dedicated and regular cage cleaning to keep a ferret clean, and clean ferrets do not smell. I change the bedding and rotate everything out weekly, because they snuggle into their beds and rub off a lot of body oils that way. If you keep the bedding clean, you keep the ferret clean.

Ferrets are extremely social animals. They want to play and they need interaction daily with their people. Ferrets do not do well all by themselves in a cage that stinks, and where they sit all by themselves 24/7. My four are out of their cages daily, into their playpen or for a short and well supervised romp in our ferret-proofed house...then they run till they are exhausted, play "Operation Sleepy Weasel" and find some place to crash...



Ferrets will get bored and start acting out in ways that you simply cannot imagine. If you let their cage go a day too long, they can (and will) projectile poop through the cage bars. Many people complain about ferrets biting. Ferrets who bite do so for one of two reasons: Either they were never taught not to bite, or they were inadvertently taught that biting was OK. They are very smart little creatures and they learn very quickly.

If you let them, ferrets will play kamikaze pilot and get into something that will kill them. There are some things in a house that are inherently dangerous to ferrets and you have to be constantly on the guard aganist fatal accidents, often in areas you would not think about. For example, I feel guilty to this day that I lost a ferret 2 years ago, because I was loading the dishwasher, and didn't notice that she dad decided to crawl inside to see what was in there. I've heard stories about electrocutions, drier deaths and such, so you have to ferret proof your house.

I reccommend that you go up on Amazon and buy a copy of "Ferrets for Dummies". I kid you not, it is one of the most thorough books on ferreting that I've ever found, and I consult my copy frequently. You absolutely must be prepared for a serious hobby if you decide to get into ferreting, and if your daughter isn't the type to be 100% dedicated to taking care of a pet, then a ferret is a poor choice.

I know this is a little long, but this is a serious subject to me, as out local Oregon Ferret Shelter usually has between 70 and 100 ferrets that are up for adoption at any time. People just drop off ferrets out there, cage and all, all the time. All four of my fuzzies are Shelter ferrets from OFS...

http://www.ferretnet.org/

http://www.oregonferretshelter.org/

[Responsibility2nd]

Thanks for these details. It looks like keeping a ferret is a high maintenance job. I’ll stick with my cat and dog.

But not for these details alone. Let me also thank you for your part in rescuing these little critters.

I have a great deal of respect for anyone who watches over the pets some stupid humans are too lazy to take care of.

I’m glad people like you are around to take in these little guys.

[MrNeutron1962]

You could get a Sporkweasel.

[Bean Counter]

Thanks! I appreciate the endorsement.

This really is a serious hobby that isn’t for everyone, and I don’t mind sharing why. I have the room, but four adoptees is enough for now...