April 11, 2013

Mirth Watch Thursday: Mistaken Identity

Today, it's time for a pup pop quiz on Pooch Smooches.

I want you to tell me what this is:

You don't even need any help with this do you? You don't need a hint (like "it rhymes with merit") or multiple choice options to narrow it down (like: "a. Seal pup, b. Ferret, c. Toy Poodle, d. Rodent of Unusual Size".)

No, because you are smart, you know - even without any help from me - that that is a ferret.

But maybe if you usually wore glasses but lost them... or if you were on particularly powerful pain meds... or if you were just a complete idiot, you might think it was, in fact, answer c. Toy Poodle.

Apparently that's what happened to some idiots people in Buenos Aires who thought they were buying toy poodles for the bargain price of $150 each. (One Report says the going rate for a ferret is $75, so the perpetrator posted a pleasant profit by passing the pets as poodles.) To be fair to the idiots buyers, these weren't just your average everyday ferrets. No, these were the Lance Armstrong of ferrets: they were juiced. That's right, the seller had pumped them full of steroids to make them practically indistinguishable from poodles, as you can see here:
Poodle vs. Ferret (I know, it's like looking at a mirror image!)
To me, though, it looks like it's on perming solution, rather than steroids. My one sis said if anything, the people could be forgiven for thinking the ferret was a bichon frisé - but come on, a poodle??

One man did not discover his moronic blunder mistake until he took the pair of "poodles" he'd purchased to his vet, where he was enlightened as to his boo-boo.

This story made me wonder, "How is it that I can look at that first picture above and know I'm looking at a ferret?" I started thinking about ferret characteristics. What makes a ferret a ferret? Like they have those tiny little pink feet (although I've known some Chihuahuas with tiny little pink feet...). Or is it the tiny little pink pointed nose? (Again, I've known some Chihuahuas with tiny little pink pointed noses.) Or is it the long slender body? (I've known some Chihuahuas Doxies that have long slender bodies.) However, I've never known a dog that had those beady little eyes. So, if someone tries to sell you a dog with a very long, slender body, and a tiny pointed pink nose, and tiny little pink feet - be sure to check the eyes!

Moral of the story is: never get your dog at the market. For so many reasons! (Geez, I wonder if there are ferret mills?)

Thanks to my sis's friend Patty, btw, for sharing this story with my sis who shared it with me! (Hi Patty!)

33 comments:

  1. Great job spinning out this crazy story. Thanks for the good laugh to start my day.

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    1. Thanks to you and Patty for providing the blog fodder!

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  2. Just the feet alone should have been a dead giveaway! I don't think the buyers could have been anything but first time dog buyers, and possibly live under a rock as well!

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    1. Think it had to be the combo of 1st-time buyer PLUS live under a rock. :)

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  3. I wrote a post about this suggesting that a quick IQ test is all that is needed to tell a Poodle from any rodent including ferrets.

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  4. Ohmigosh, this is hilarious! To be honest, I had no idea that ferrets could be white and fluffy like that. I thought they were always brown-ish and had coarse hair. Learn something new every day!

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    1. The brown ones were passed off as German Shepherd pups. :P

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  5. Holy moley! SERIOUSLY!?! A toy poodle? People are idiots.

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  6. Jackie,
    Lately my correspondence has been rodent themed (have you noticed?). Hope Cosmo doesn't drag in one of these "poodles" anytime soon.
    Patty

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    1. Everyone enjoys rodent-themed correspondence. And, yes, I hope Cosmo doesn't drag home a "poodle"!

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  7. We saw this and could not believe someone was duped. Wonders will never cease. Have a terrific Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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    1. One does have to wonder about where people's heads are at??!

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  8. I heard about this, but truthfully looking at the juiced up ferret, it does NOT look like a dog to me, I don't see how anyone could mistake it, with or without glasses. ;-)

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  9. OMG, the smell should have been a dead give away! Have you smelled a ferret recently?! There is a big difference between a "doggy" smell and a "musky" ferret smell.

    P.S. Technically ferrets are weasels -- not rodents -- but thanks for the Princess Bride reference. It's one of my favorite books. I'm still giggling.

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    1. That's so funny. No, I can't say that I've smelled a ferret recently - or ever, for that fact. I've never actually seen a ferret up close and personal.

      And, yes, I did learn that ferrets aren't rodents while researching this. So, I learned something and this time was not wasted! :)

      (Princess Bride is one of my fave movies - just finally read the book this year, and sadly - I didn't love it as much as the movie!)

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  10. I did see this story earlier and truly could not believe it...The gullible do walk among us

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  11. I heard that Ferrets smell like grape soda - I've never had one, so I have no idea . .but they DO NOT look like toy poodles! Sometimes I get worried by how many stupid people there are out there (I know, I know . .they are just doing the best they can . .) Thanks for the laugh!

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    1. Huh - grape soda. Who knew?

      Yes, they are doing the best they can I suppose... :)

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  12. Wow, a poodle come on people! Probably not the most ideal candidates for pup ownership right?! Ha! Cute post!

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    1. Yeah - if you can't tell a dog from a ferret, you probably should stick with a goldfish.

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  13. Read about this yesterday and laughed hysterically. People... are interesting :-)

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  14. Wow. I haven't read a story that involved that degree of cleverness, deviousness, and utter stupidity in a long time!

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    1. Yes, the degree of deviousness of the perpetrators is equally matched by the degree of stupidity of the buyers!

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  15. Perfect. That's pretty much all that needs to be said, isn't it??

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  16. Just goes to show you should do some research before buying a puppy, daft hoomans **shakes head in wonderment**

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    1. Exactly! Do your research. No impluse buying a puppy at the market! Daft is the perfect word.

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  17. I saw a fat ferret at the Houston Pet Expo on Saturday and laughed to myself thinking about this post!

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    1. That's so funny. We'll all never look at a ferret the same way. Don't suppose you got a chance to smell it? (Did you read the other comments?)

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