Maren's Dilemma

I will get up early tomorrow morning and go to work. I will immerse myself into my job as a manager of a local fast food chain, and I will be busy. My day goes by quickly and it is a blessing at times. But when a place is busy mistakes are made, and we will be making our share. At some point, I will have to deal with someone who didn't want pickles on their burger. There will be nothing wrong with their burger, really. Not raw, no hair - just a burger with pickles on it. And instead of simply picking off the pickles and eating the damn thing, they will come over to me and demand a new one. Oh, and because we are customer service oriented, I will *give* them a new one and take the bag they hand me containing the old burger and throw it dutifully in the trash. Nothing wrong with it, mind you. Just not what they wanted. They might have even made the mistake themselves when ordering, but it would not matter - I would still have to do the same thing. The customer is always right, they pay the bills, and we will throw away perfectly good food to keep in the game.

Maren will be going to work tomorrow, too. She will immerse herself in the task she has taken on, and she will be busy. Her day will go by too quickly, but it will be no blessing. She might place some, but more will be taken in than placed. She will do her best to see that her rescues are taken care of, but most will not be placed, and some will get sick, and other things will go wrong. Someone will show up with a ferret they can no longer keep, and it won't matter whether the reason is real or inane, she will take it. There might be nothing wrong with the ferret at all, other than it costs money to feed and time to care for. Nope. It will just be a ferret. And instead of taking the time they *meant* to take when got their beloved pet, they will ask her (without asking her) to take the time *for* them. And she will, even if she really can't. Nothing wrong with the ferret, mind you. They just don't want it. And she will feed and water her new rescue, clean it's bedding, and empty the used litter into the trash. It will not matter to her whether these people were truly in need and desperate, or just jerks. Ferrets are the only things that matter to her, and she will pay the bills and smile as they walk away without their ferret.

How did we get to this point? Don't tell me it's the economy. If it's the economy, why in the hell are Marshall Farms and Path Valley making more? Supply and demand? Why would anyone need or want to purchase a ferret from the farms when shelters are overflowing across the country? Why?

It is because of our mentality, the mentality that says don't pick the pickles off your burger, just throw it away and get a new one. It is the mentality that thinks "I want the companionship of a ferret, but if it doesn't 'work out' for whatever reason there are great people with endless time and resources who will take care of it for me." They will not think about the weight they are putting on the backs of the shelters, or of the ferrets who will die waiting for the forever home that they themselves *intended* to provide. Always the good intentions. Instead, they will just do what is good for *them* and they will walk away because they *can*. Oh, yes... Maren could walk away, too... but she won't. And that is where she, and others like her, are truly different.

Marshall and Path will keep the ferret machine running, and even though the ferrets *should* be the most important part of the machine, they are in effect the most expendable. I will go to work tomorrow to feed hungry people and I will throw food away. And none of this, not a bit of it, will make any sense.

I got a twitter tonight from nvferretrunner: "... taking 4 in for ultrasounds tomorrow and two girls are going to sleep. bad day for me." But she will get up in the morning and do it, bad day or no. Maren will get up tomorrow and try to change the laws of time and space just to spend one more minute with one of her rescues. Meanwhile, kits in crates will be shipped from the ferret farms to pet stores near you.

Yes, I will get up and go to work tomorrow. I will try very hard not to glare at the first person who brings back a shake because it's not "strawberry enough." I will force a smile and do my best to hide the pain in my eyes as I remember the two fuzzies from NV who will lose their lives sometime tomorrow while I am working. But my heart will be with them, and I will think of Maren and others like her, desperately trying to figure out what to do.

Bad day for me, too.