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Patrick Wright looks for a San Diego legislator to defend his animal rights
As a (former) participant in the California ferret wars I read the article with enthusiasm looking for more Ferrets Anonymous propoganda, and finding it. If it's an election year Pat Wright is playing his decade old martyrdom yet again, looking to legalize vermin and finding more sympathetic ears. In 2000, Mr. Wright went to jail for threatening a law enforcement officer with a knife, not for owning a ferret. Kind of takes the spin off the tale when that little fact is known. In 1998, while showing off his ferret to a cameraman for local tv, the ferret jumped up and bit the unfortunate media membe. Hardly the puff piece Mr. Wright was looking for. In 1996, an escaped ferret in Clairemont bit a young man, and Mr. Wright and Ferrets Anonymous spirited away the animal. Without an animal to test, the boy had to undergo rabies injections. Mr. Wright was unapologetic, offering medical advice to the family and claiming he had a constitutional right to own his ferrets. No responsible pet owner claim he shouldn't be responsible for his pet's misbehavior; except for ferret owners. I'm responsible if my dog gets out and bites a kid. But ferret owners claim they are harassed when their pets escape. It's that lack of responsibility that I find irritating. Vets treat ferrets openly, no one stakes out a parking lot looking for animals to euthanize. Pet stores sell products openly, no one hides in the aisle waiting to take down the name of a customer. Yet the article would not be complete without the conspiratorial "not her real name" interviews. In reality, no one cares if you own a ferret, until the ferret escapes or causes a problem. When that happens, in my experience, the ferret owners deny responsibility for their animial. Until that hypocrisy is cured, irresponsible people should not be allowed to own ferrets.— May 14, 2012 3:33 p.m.