muffinsquirrel
08-16-2006, 12:31 PM
I posted this on another board this spring, but I wanted to put it on here, too. Although it is written about flyers, it goes for ALL squirrels.
I am always glad when someone becomes a new HOF,(Human Owned by Flyer), and absolutely thrilled when they come here to learn all they can about their new pet. But I am very concerned that many do not seem to really 'get' the responsibilities that they are taking on. A flyer can live 15 years or more - that's longer than some of these possible owners have been alive. Flyers are fairly easy to take care of, as far as housing and feeding are concerned, but they take a huge commitment in time and attention. You can't just love them and bond with them for a couple of months, and expect them to love you forever. If you turn them over to someone else to care for, they will bond with that person. I read so often that 'I want a flyer soooo badly...but maybe I'll get a glider or a bunny or a water buffalo instead'. I can guarantee you that if you get a flyer for any other reason than that you love and adore them for what they are,(not what you think they will be), you will soon loose interest, and your pet will end up (if they're lucky) in the nearest equalivant to my Wild Bunch cage - a home for life for flyers that became unwanted because they bit or peed or pooped or wouldn't play when their owners wanted them to. Or worse, being let loose in the woods to 'be wild', when they no longer have any idea of how to fend for themselves. A flyer is not like a dog or a cat - you do not let a flyer into your life and home. Instead, you turn your life and home over to a flyer, and any changes that are made, are made by you, not the flyer.
The thing that worries me the most is all the kids that are getting a flyer knowing that they are going off to college soon. They seem to be planning on leaving them for someone else to take care of, or keeping them illegally at school. They don't seem to realize that if someone else takes care of the flyers, then the flyers are going to bond with that someone, and not with them. And taking them to school - well, it probably wouldn't be that difficult to sneak them in, and to disguise the cage. But the thing that none of them seem to be considering is the fact that they will be living in a dorm full of other kids. Kids that are going to come in their room when they aren't around and 'play' with the flyers, which can quickly lead to lost, stolen, injured and/or dead flyers. Or the fact that sooner or later (probably sooner) someone will certainly get mad at them about something and turn them in for having a pet. College is a time for parties and dates and fun before childhood is gone (and maybe a little bit of studying), and not a time to be tied down to taking care of a pet that needs out-of-cage time every night. And flyer-proofing a dorm room isn't gonna be the easiest thing in the world, either!
Having a flyer in your life is one of the most rewarding things you could imagine, but PLEASE!!! make sure you are going into it for the right reasons, and with at least a vague idea of the commitment you are making. Don't just think about how cute and cuddly they are when they are babies - think about the flyer, and whether it is the right time for you to become an owner.
I'm sorry if I have 'stepped on any toes' here, but this is something that I have been concerned about for some time now. While I love to see the happiness of a new HOF when they get their pup, I love even more
to see the happiness of a flyer that is cared for as it should be.
These are my own opinions, not necessairly those of other members of this board.
muffinsquirrel
I am always glad when someone becomes a new HOF,(Human Owned by Flyer), and absolutely thrilled when they come here to learn all they can about their new pet. But I am very concerned that many do not seem to really 'get' the responsibilities that they are taking on. A flyer can live 15 years or more - that's longer than some of these possible owners have been alive. Flyers are fairly easy to take care of, as far as housing and feeding are concerned, but they take a huge commitment in time and attention. You can't just love them and bond with them for a couple of months, and expect them to love you forever. If you turn them over to someone else to care for, they will bond with that person. I read so often that 'I want a flyer soooo badly...but maybe I'll get a glider or a bunny or a water buffalo instead'. I can guarantee you that if you get a flyer for any other reason than that you love and adore them for what they are,(not what you think they will be), you will soon loose interest, and your pet will end up (if they're lucky) in the nearest equalivant to my Wild Bunch cage - a home for life for flyers that became unwanted because they bit or peed or pooped or wouldn't play when their owners wanted them to. Or worse, being let loose in the woods to 'be wild', when they no longer have any idea of how to fend for themselves. A flyer is not like a dog or a cat - you do not let a flyer into your life and home. Instead, you turn your life and home over to a flyer, and any changes that are made, are made by you, not the flyer.
The thing that worries me the most is all the kids that are getting a flyer knowing that they are going off to college soon. They seem to be planning on leaving them for someone else to take care of, or keeping them illegally at school. They don't seem to realize that if someone else takes care of the flyers, then the flyers are going to bond with that someone, and not with them. And taking them to school - well, it probably wouldn't be that difficult to sneak them in, and to disguise the cage. But the thing that none of them seem to be considering is the fact that they will be living in a dorm full of other kids. Kids that are going to come in their room when they aren't around and 'play' with the flyers, which can quickly lead to lost, stolen, injured and/or dead flyers. Or the fact that sooner or later (probably sooner) someone will certainly get mad at them about something and turn them in for having a pet. College is a time for parties and dates and fun before childhood is gone (and maybe a little bit of studying), and not a time to be tied down to taking care of a pet that needs out-of-cage time every night. And flyer-proofing a dorm room isn't gonna be the easiest thing in the world, either!
Having a flyer in your life is one of the most rewarding things you could imagine, but PLEASE!!! make sure you are going into it for the right reasons, and with at least a vague idea of the commitment you are making. Don't just think about how cute and cuddly they are when they are babies - think about the flyer, and whether it is the right time for you to become an owner.
I'm sorry if I have 'stepped on any toes' here, but this is something that I have been concerned about for some time now. While I love to see the happiness of a new HOF when they get their pup, I love even more
to see the happiness of a flyer that is cared for as it should be.
These are my own opinions, not necessairly those of other members of this board.
muffinsquirrel