Deaf Ferret in Petco?

[Arlene]

I went in Petco today to buy some bedding for the ratties. I can't do that without at least visiting the critters. In the ferret bin were some beautiful ferrets but one in particular caught my eye. He/she looked like a Panda with just a few flicks of grey on his head and neck. He's almost certainly deaf. I asked the girl at the register who cared for the ferrets. She told me that person was Brenda and that she wasn't there today. I told her I thought he was probably deaf and would she please tell Brenda because it was something that she needed to be aware of because if it were deaf then it would need to go to someone who was experienced otherwise there might be behavior issues. She agreed with me and promised to tell Brenda. I sure hope she does!

[Lmbswimmer]

I had a friend who worked at a Petco in RI.  They had a deaf ferret, she took it home because they were going to euthanize it.  Usually they get sent back to Marshall's and are euthanized unless someone adopts/buys it first.

[JohariZ]

yup, because most petstores really don't care, and if they send it back to marshall farms then at least they'll get their money back. That was the only reason why the petstore I worked at would even take a ferret to the vet, because Marshall farms would pay for it. If they wouldn't pay for it, then the fert wouldn't get to the vet.

[Arlene]

Oh NO! Maybe I should not have said anything and if she is deaf they would never have known!

[JohariZ]

No, if it's a Marshall farms ferret, then Marshall farms will pay for it to be taken to the vet... Oh wait, never mind, it's deaf, not sick...

[umbrella]

The Petco I worked for would sell deaf ferrets to carefully-screened homes. They were never euthanized--deafness is not a reason not to sell them. At the very least, it would never be cost-effective to have them PTS for deafness.