Someone found a ferret and captured her, and took it straight to the Humane Society. The woman had been handling the ferret with gloves because she was “nippy”. While at the Humane Society, she bit two workers hard enough to draw blood.
Luckily, local ferret owners were right on it, and several contacted the Humane Society. I also called them. The woman was polite but firm that there had to be a 10-day quarantine. I told her that was no problem, and that when the quarantine was up, I would be happy to take the ferret and work with her.
Several other local ferret owners stopped by inquiring about the ferret, others called, and many in our local club were going nuts worrying about the ferret. 
Finally, when the quarantine was up, the vet cleared the ferret (“no signs of rabies”) and they called me to have someone get her.
Ross went down to pick up the ferret. He waited for over an hour before they could get to him (it was a Friday afternoon). When he got back to talk to the adoption person, they read him ALL the notes in the file. Apparently all the calls and visits were documented. In her paperwork, though, it said, “Bit two HS employees and drew blood. Recommend kill and send out head for testing rather than quarantine due to lack of space.”
That explained the tone of voice I’d noticed when I talked to someone there. I think they thought we were completely insane to want to save this ferret, since it bit so hard.
I got the ferret out of the carrier without incident. She was tense and frightened, but not overtly aggressive. Over the next couple days, I gave her treats, handled her, let her play … and at no time did she ever try to bite. She is a young female, no more than 1 year old. I think she might be deaf, which would explain the biting … deaf ferrets are often more easily spooked.
She is a lucky little girl. She is lucky that so many ferret owners were willing to keep on eye on places like Craig’s List and the Humane Society. She was lucky that there are so many people here in Pittsburgh who love ferrets.
She is not a nippy ferret. She is most certainly not a ferret I would call “a biter”. I have rehabbed some really bad biters over the years, and she doesn’t even make it into that category. She never even tried to nip my ankle, and my own personal ferrets will do that!
I think this is a wonderful example of how people paying attention and pulling together can make a difference in the life of a ferret. The Humane Society is severely understaffed. Those people look shell-shocked to me. Rather than censure them, we need to offer our support. Don’t just assume it’s all good. Volunteer, donate, and let them know that we care.
The best thing anyone could do at this point is to send a donation to the Humane Society. Address it to Dara Krom – Director of Customer Services. Tell her thank you for taking the time to do the quarantine. Reference Animal ID: A142379.
