Stuffing the Ballot Box

Someone added about 100 votes to our poll saying we should "wait for the working group." Looking at who clicked the link to the poll I see three people since the 100 votes appeared. Two of those three are members of the working group.

Was Yesterday a Holiday?

No one returned my phone calls yesterday regarding an EIR Consultant. I will wait until late morning today to try again.

There was a comment on our poll which showed diametrically opposed view points on this. The person said people were not educated enough to vote on this issue.

One thing that is very important to me is transparency. We are not doing anything shady or to be ashamed of. It is a simple bureacratic hoop we have to jump through. Sure there is politics involved - but we want to be scientific and credible. It is very hard to build support when you can't tell people what you are doing.

Dr Graening did provide a very useful information I'd like to share:

1. "have an academic institution update the 50-state survey and publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal.
2. using a neutral 3rd party, begin discussions with CDFG; establish the requirements needed to remove the ban, and determine the CEQA process/strategy that CDFG will follow, etc.
   
   with these 2 tasks accomplished, writing the EIR will be straightforward."

I will update this blog daily until we have a proposed consultant or strategy.

A New Day For the EIR

It is Monday morning before 9 am and I have calls into a large environmental firm recommended by our previous hoped for consultant, the California Department of Fish and Game and Assembyman John Pérez.

The search for an EIR/CEQA consultant has started again. I know a little more than before and I've always known to leave it to a professinal.

It is rather humbling to call the Department of Fish and Game and ask their help in legalizing ferrets - but I have no pride. That disappeared a long time ago. Have you heard my story about size 41 underwear at the George Bailey Detention Center?

The goal is to legalize ferrets - it should be a simple goal, but not in California.

But I feel good now that I've quit waiting for the "Working Group" to finish their project. We need to proceed and get the work done. And if the bids come in higher than we expect, I'll be out there selling plasma and lining up sponsors to get this project finished once and for all.

I didn't go to jail wearing size 41 underwear for nothing!

Free the ferrets - and their owners. I will be keeping this blog up to date with progress on the search for our consultant.

UPS Loses Our T-Shirts

Box 2 of 2 our "Ferrets Are More Fun" T-shirt arrived from the silk screener on Thursday, March 5th. Odd, I thought, but Box 1 of 2 will probably arrive Friday.

It didn't. So I did a tracking and was told both boxes arrived Thursday at 4:22 pm.

UPS doesn't make it easy to file a claim or complaint, but I made it through.

The UPS driver tried to leave a note on my front door, but the dogs alerted me to his presence and near-escape. My dogs alert me to everything.

The driver says he specifically remembers delivering two identical packages a week earlier. Stuck me as odd, since I can't remember s*, (let's say much.)

In talking to the driver, I harked back to one TV show I've started watching, "Lie to me." I didn't see any tale tell signs of lying, but I don't believe the driver. I think he delivered them to a wrong address and was too lazy to go get them.

Once he left it also struck me as odd that there were no packages on our front door at 4:22 pm. My car is in the garage, it looks like no one is home, but I'm always in my home office and I was home all day. The one package did not show up until 6:30, after dark.

Oh how'd I'd like an FBI investigation into this serious crime. But this being California I'd be hauled off to jail (again) for the ferrets downstairs.

So today's plans include a big chunk of time inventorying the shirts that went out, the shirts that are here and filling a new order with Jimmy Jams T-Shirts, who is graciously going to reprint the lost shirts at his expense. I will be using him a lot in the future.

Still Worried About Fausto

Fausto stopped eating. Damn ferret, makes me worry so much.

His blood work came back normal. No obvious problems. He passed a physical without anything noticable wrong except weight loss. The guess now - iritable bowel syndrome.

Last Sunday was the low point, both emotionally and weight-wise. Since then he has been on Marshall Pet Products Duck Soup. Early in the week his vet had me add prednisone. And he'll take it and his weight is back up. Normal weight for a ferret, still skinny by Fausto standards.

Equally odd, he won't drink water out of the lixit bottle any more either. I have to have a bowl there for him.

I am supposed to take him back to the vet if he doesn't gain weight, but he has.

I've always had a special talent for knowing when an animal is sick. While others say wait before going to the vet - I can usually tell when something is serious before it is too late.

But Fausto has me stumped. He looks fine, won't eat and a certain spark is gone. For a moment this morning he did torment the dog. But not with the usual joy that task entails. Is he depressed? Nothing has changed.

Ferret Poop Is Not Getting The Best of Me

It hasn't been the best day. I'm still worried about Fausto. The runny brown poop is back but in less quantity.

And I had a hard time cleaning it up. Industrial strength tub and tile cleaner didn't bring it up. But I remembered another product in the cleaning cabinet.

Only two applications and all sign of the poop is gone. Then I just had to worry about not killing the ferret with toxic fumes.

So come Monday -Avain and Exotic Hospital, expect a call from me. I sure hope you aren't observing President's Day Weekend.

I spent Fausto's vet money on new tires. And it turns out Discount Tire was correct, you have to replace all Subaru AWD tires at once. That's four tires not two. And they need to have their stem piece replaced as well. Luckily, property tax isn't due for another week, so we might spend property tax money on Fausto.

And while I'm complaining. I was going to throw Bailey's bed out just now. I gather up the trash, and what do I find?

Thanks to our dog Bear for continually chewing this thing up, how am I going to evict Bailey now?

I had other problems today. It took six weeks to get an appointment to the dermatologist. When I arrived I picked up a message on my voice mail, a project I did had an error and it needed to be fixed asap. I waited 45 minutes at the doctor's and was never seen - had to leave. Sure enough it was my error. I couldn't charge the client for all that work, he'll probably never use me again.

Some days are unlucky. And today is Friday the 13th. I'm not normally superstitious, but my first four ferrets all died on a Friday the 13th, and the 5th was cremated on a Friday the 13th. Perhaps I should have stayed in bed, but who'd worry about Fausto?

Breaking Down and Going to the Vet

My unemployment ran out last week. We aren't making a mortgage payment this month. These are the bad old days.


And Fausto doesn't seem himself.


I thought it was the change of seasons. Fausto balloons up in the winter into a brick. He has kept his size, but his weight is down.


Someone has had runny poop for six weeks - I haven't been able to figure out who, but now I'm wondering if it isn't Fausto. Previously everyone seemed healthy, now I have one who just appears not quite right.

So with considerable anxiety - we're off to the vet this afternoon. Last time someone didn't seem right - Sunny had an unexplained anemia. It was an emotional roller coaster, about $2500 and we lost.

Fausto is special. (as they all are, but really, he's special). I love the way he came to me via the Lemon Grove Rehabilitation Center - just walked in their front door one Saturday. Big enough to trigger the automatic doors.

Perhaps I shouldn't share that. I've heard DFG say that ferrets go out and prowl for old people thinking they smell just like rabbits.

Wish us luck.

UPDATE

The vet's guess is some sort of bacterial infection. Fausto is on Amoxicillin and Flagyl. I forgot what fun it is to give ferrets Flagyl. Blood results should be in tomorrow. The words "insulinoma" and "anemia" did not come up - so I'm happy.