General note to help FMLers: If someone asks for money VERIFY, VERIFY,
VERIFY!  There has been documentation of scam artists who actually make
incomes in the six figures doing this full time on an assortment of pet
lists, with dog and cat lists being places where folks are especially
taken, but these people often USE (in many variations of the meaning)
other pet lists including ferret lists and their members.  We got badly
burned at one time and since then we only give to verified shelters, the
SOS, and verified places which advance the state of veterinary care for
ferrets.  (Actually, the last couple of years we have not been in a
position to give and have lived extra modestly, but we've managed the
ferret medical care so what was important was done and continues to be
done.) Anyway, it IS possible to verify many claims (like Jean's for
instance which is completely real and it's easy to find many folks who
know her and know her shelter and easy to verify the history) and,
please, do not be naive enough to assume that any sad story is real;
there are people who make their livings by writing just such stories
for no reason except to benefit themselves.  When those people benefit
themselves they not only take money from loving people but they displace
money which could have instead gone to real causes: known people, known
shelters, known veterinary care improvement projects, SOS (very known),
etc.  so they rob those who really need the money for real needs (like
Jean's needs which are real).  Verify, verify, verify!
 
BTW, if you are touched by a post and want to help while verifying then
look things up for them which could help them.  Honestly, the folks who
really use the info, really care enough about ferrets to learn, and so
on tend to say thank you and tend ask questions designed to better their
care.  They usually are also interested in hearing about people who
off-set vet costs by providing labor when things are really tight (as
folks have done with everything from cage cleaning to accounting to
designing vet hospital websites).  I've been burned by some to whom I'm
sent info, too, but at least I learned some things while seeking the info
and found useful sites to also help others so it wasn't a waste of time.
Of course, I've encountered my share of people who then wrote asking for
money, and others to whom I sent all sorts of (ignored) info to help save
a shelter and then learned from multiple trusted folks that the people
are quietly breeding and selling in show parking lots with their shelter
being something of a front.  In those cases at least what I get to learn
is useful to me and might help others who are real, but for anything past
that don't send money until you get independent verification (unless you
have such oodles of money to share that moneys lost aren't felt -- in
which case I would LOVE it if you would, please -- instead of giving to
fake charities -- give extra to some REAL and wonderful charities like
the Morris Animal Foundation, the SOS, the U of GA research into ADV, the
Ferret Tissue Bank at the AFIP, the current research into that mystery
illness some kits have had with high fevers and enormous white cell
counts, Jean, etc).
 
A sad story is not necessarily a real story and I personally find it
obnoxious that some scam artists live high on the hog by taking from
those who have little enough themselves, good donors who could instead
have given that money to those who also are achieving good in the world
or have done a lot of good, but could do so much more good with their
donations.
[Posted in FML issue 4419]