Guilty and Never to be Proved Innocent

Why is it that the Hooman’s have a saying that says “Innocent until proven guilty,” But us critters are automatically deemed guilty and rarely if ever proven innocent.

Hooman’s do not take what other hoomans say at face value when a crime is committed yet when it comes down to us being accused there is no real investigation if a hooman states they saw us do something then it has to be true even if that hooman is not very reliable or they think they saw was true then it should be proven.

We Live in a world where critters are frequently the scapegoat and unless our pet hooman’s start to demand that we at least get the right to prove our innocence when we are euthanized because we supposedly did something horrific such as gnaw on a child then we should have a necropsy performed. The act should not be set in stone just because someone said we did something when we could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The reason for this post is that Iz found out that there was no necropsy done on the three ferrets or the cats in the case of the baby being supposedly mauled by ferrets. The reason given was that the mother saw one of the ferrets on the child and as Iz has stated multiple times there is a chance that the ferret was trying to comfort the child. Yet the only test done was for rabies and only on the ferrets.

The officers involved stated that the bites were consistent with a ferret’s bite except if we were to bite into something to leave an impression and a cat did the same thing you would see that the bites would be very similar and unless there was a scientific comparison to rule which one left the mark it would be very hard to tell and yet none was done.

So as far as the media, those watching the media. and law enforcement are concerned the ferrets were the evil animals that attacked a defenseless child and caused severe injuries that will require multiple surgeries to repair. In the minds of those people the ferrets deserved to die but did they really? We will never know the truth. Granted the children have been removed from the home and the parents charged with child endangerment.

What do you think? Should any animal accused of attacking a hooman that has been euthanized have a necropsy done to prove/disprove the report?

Have a Chittering Day,

Manny

Ferrets are Not Vicious Animals!

As Iz reported on Friday there was a supposed ferret attack on a one month old child. The News stations and papers do not seem to have any more information than when they first reported the incident.

Iz did find out that the ferrets and two cats were euthanized. The article only said the ferrets were being tested for rabies. Iz can only hope that a nercrospy was performed on all the animals to see just which one had human flesh in their digestive track. There were also several other animals removed from the home. Unfortunately it is the ferrets that are the ones being blamed for the damage done to this child.

What the news reporters do not seem to understand is that it would take us ferrets a long time to do the damage the child sustained. In an interview the father stated that two of the ferrets were on the child and the third was still in the make shift cage, which again was made from cloth and was never intended to house any animal for an extended period of time. It is my opinion the ferrets were trying to comfort the child like they would do with a small kit, baby ferret, that was in distress. Again that is only MY OPINION.

Iz has the feeling that not all the facts have been discovered and unless there was a pet autopsy, Nercrospy< performed on ALL the euthanized animals wez may never know the real truth. Also living in that house were four other children under the age of five that were released into the custody of the grandparents and one article said there are criminal charges pending. Iz have to point out that this event was 100% preventable. If the parents had used a proper cage made from metal and not a cloth dog playpen, or had taken the child upstairs with them the child would not be in the ICU facing multiple surgeries to her face. The ferrets and cats would be alive and the other animals would not have been ripped from their home and the media would not have a sad story to report. But it also must be said that the living conditions were not ideal for the children or animals and both probably should have been removed or at the very least been monitored a lot closer than they were. This tragedy took place on the same day as the New York City Hearing to lift the ban on ferrets living in the city. It is our fear that those reconsidering the ban will leave it in place due to this incident and use it as the grounds for their decision when it is apparent that it was a preventable situation and that stories like this are not as prevalent as dog incidents in the news. Again leave a comment if you wish but Iz and Hooman reserve the right to delete any comment that is flaming towards other commenters or ourselves. Facts:

Ferrets ARE NOT rodents they were domesticated to hunt them and were used as rodent control until the earlier 30's in the United States

Most ferrets in the United States are fed kibble and have never tasted animal flesh but it also must be said there is a growing movement of raw fed ferrets but our stomachs are small.

Ferrets have claws like a cat and can climb.

Ferrets are curious creatures and will investigate any kind of squeaky noises.

Since the late 50's there have been less than 20 reported cases of rabies in ferrets and there are now vaccines against the disease.

Wez will continue to monitor the story and bring you the latest as wez find it out.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Manny

Ferrets in the News Again

this time it is not a happy story. It seems on the day that New York City Hygiene and Mental Health board was having a hearing on whether or not they will lift the ban on ferrets a month old girl was supposedly mauled by the families three pet ferrets.

The article is short and does not have a lot of facts to explain what happened but the one thing that is very clear is that the parents were not thinking when they strapped the little girl into her car seat and set in on the floor before going upstairs to be distracted.

Hooman has always said that ferrets and small children do not mix and like the case in Missouri we may never know the truth.

You can read the article here and draw your own thoughts but wez have some points to make.

1. Wez do not know many pet Hoomans that would leave a month old child unsupervised around their pets.

2. Said parents were not in another room but upstairs well away from the child.

3. The ferrets were not properly housed. Iz do not know what a cloth cage is.This is not a cage it is a playpen for doggies not to house ferrets

4. There is no mention of what happened to the ferrets but unfortunately our guess is that they were euthanized to be tested for rabies.

5. The couple’s other four children were put into child protective services with no explanation as to why.

 

Our fear is that this story will make New York decide not to lift the ban due to the injury to the child. We can only hope that News stories like this stay far and few between.

Please leave your thoughts but any flaming will be deleted. Wez are not blaming the child or the ferrets. The only ones truly responsible for this tragedy are the parents.

Have a chittering good day,

Manny

Wordless Wednesday

Let us know what you think.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

h1n1 and the Ferret

      December 7 1941 is known for the sneak attack by Japanese bombers on Pearl Harbor. We watch and listen about the history of the day. We learn about the thousands of service men caught unaware and the end result.

     What does the attack on Pearl Harbor have to do with ferrets? The answer is nothing unless you are taking into account that ferret owners can be caught unaware of things. An article in Earthtimes caught my attention.

     We are all aware of the swine flu or it’s official name h1n1. We know that it affects humans in different ways and that some of us are more susceptible to it than others. The reason the article caught my attention was the fact that it was about ferrets that had been diagnosed with this pandemic virus.

     With this development those that own or care for ferrets should be on alert for any changes in their fur kids that might signal a trip to the vet’s office. A ferret with an immune deficiency should be taken just to be on the safe side.

     Ferrets are capable of getting the flu from us and are able to give it back.

     Owners and ferret caregivers should take precautions to limit exposure to the h1n1 or regular flu virus. These include wearing a mask if there is no one else that can take care of your babies. Washing your hands before and after contact with any ferret, not just your own. Many dollar stores have small travel size hand sanitizers in a three pack. It's easy to have one in your purse or pocket.

     If you notice flu like symptoms in a ferret watch to make sure they are eating and drinking. A ferret that doesn’t drink is likely to die from dehydration. The article did say that the ferrets that had the h1n1 survived. However, it must be noted that these ferrets needed veterinary care.

   By being vigilant and noticing any changes in our fur children we won't be caught unaware.

Jo

When Ferrets Attack

     In my house you never know what is going to happen next. This is especially true when it comes to the critters. When it is time for my fur kids to have their time out of their cages I have to herd the two cats (Richard and Majic), and Trixie out of the room closing the door behind them.

     Gweny gets let out first for two reasons. One girls first and second if I let her out last I get reminded that she is the Queen. Needle sharp teeth make an impression and I don’t just mean in the memory.

    While the boys are out of their cage I restore some order to it so that I don’t have a huge clean up at the end of the week. This includes sweeping up the food James has flung out of the feeder while he was getting to that one special piece at the bottom and at least once a week Lance spills the water dish so he can jump in the puddles. If the boys notice I am still at their cage they will take turns nipping at my toes and ankles until I move away from it. After all it is their bacholar pad and it has really cool things.

     Gweny is defiantly the fussbudget when it comes to her place. She knows when one thing is a fraction out of place and will make a racket while fixing it herself.

     Once play time is over and I have put my kids back in their cages the other critters are allowed back in the room. Trixie response is to scent the room finding every where my kids have been. Richard returns to his throne on the back of the recliner.

     Majic makes his way over to the boy’s cage and sits there for a while before sticking his paw in through the bars and scooping up a pawfull of ferret food. Guess it tastes better than his cat food. This has been going on for a while and the boys let him…that is until lastnight.

     Now you have to understand the set up of the boy’s cage. It is a medium size dog crate. On one end is the litter pan with newspaper under it to make cleaning up the sprayed litter, more on that in another post, and on the other end is their hammock, food trough , water dish, and James decided about a week ago that he was going to claim an empty soda box to sleep in.

     Lance has taken to sitting on top of the food trough looking like snoopy™ doing the impression of a vulture. He has just been watching Majic take a pawfull after pawfull of food for about a week.

     James in the last day or so has moved his box from one side of the hammock to the other with the opening near the tray of the food trough. I was working at the computer when I hear the cage rattle. I turned around to see Majic shaking his paw and Lance doing the vulture. Thought for a moment that Lance had bitten him.

     While I was watching Majic sticks his paw back in to get another pawfull of food when out of the box James strikes with the quickness of a snake biting Majic before disappearing back into the box. You would think after two bites he’d get the message. But I guess he thought somehow Lance had done it because he watched Lance and not where his paw was going.   

     James tagged him a third time. Majic must equate the food trough with pain because he hasn’t taken any food since.

     Majic did try a couple of times to take Gweny’s food but her answer was to remove her dish from the side of the cage and put it in the center next to her santa hat sleeping sack.

     Majic isn’t stupid enough to take on Gweny because she would bite and not let go until I rescued him. Richard was the one that found that out the hard way.

  It seems than there is a slight miss understanding about what a super pet sock-r-ball is and who it is for. The Sock-r-ball is for pets. It comes apart to hold either a sock or treats. Lance likes it when I pull parts of the sock out enough for him to carry it around.

     Again the rules are comment on the blog no pick me/I would love to win this type of comments and/or refer someone else to the blog. A winner will be picked on August 8th and posted on the blog.

 

Jo