So far this year, traveling tops the list of activities for Jeanne
Carley, who recently spent her birthday fly-fishing in New Zealand.
Just back from *down under* Jeanne is off again! Heading to Washington,
our ferret activist is not on her way to some congressional hearing.
Instead, she will be visiting the World War II Memorial with her dad,
veteran Floyd Carley, and her sister. (Many of you will remember
meeting Mr. Carley at the 2001 Ferret Symposium in Las Vegas, NV.)
One of the best sports you will meet, Jeanne was attacked by a pit bull
in 2002. She spent time recovering from the attack, including knee
surgery in 2004. Although she is able to use the knee, it has not been
the same since, Jeanne says. *I learned that life is short ... you can
lose your life in an instance,* she said.
Many years ago Jeanne had a traditional job, working as a photographer.
She loves animals and would pet-sit for some friends who owned a ferret.
*I fell in love* with the antics and personality of the little critter
and, *became outraged at their illegal status!* she said. Thus began
her work in California to support the legalization of ferrets. Jeanne,
with her dad, has been active in Californians for Ferret Legalization
(http://www.ferretnews.org) for more than 12 years. Chuckling, she
says, *I sure wish the guy (with the dogs) had owned two illegal ferrets
instead of two legal pit bulls!*
Jeanne also began attending ferret shows and made some Christmas cards
featuring ferrets. *Mary Van Dahm encouraged me to make a calendar about
1991 or 92,* says Jeanne, *but I kept putting it off. Then, I made the
1994 calendar. We sold about 4 or 5 thousand that year, advertising by
word of mouth. The next year Borders Books called and ordered about
50,000! After that, it just grew.*
And grow it did. The 2004 calendar, like the one for 2003, sold out,
making it almost impossible to obtain. Jeanne says that people contact
her frequently for missed years, but that she does not have single copies
of these available. If you are one of the fortunate few with extra
calendars, placing them on e-bay may help net your favorite shelter a
few dollars. Jeanne says that if you will send her the link, she will
share that with her mailing list.
Creating the calendar is a *labor of love,* taking an awful lot of money
and time. All of the ferrets who appear are required to have work
permits. Jeanne tries to tell a story with her pictures. Each calendar
will have as many different stories as possible, but with a single theme.
Influences of Anne Geddes and William Wegman can be found throughout.
The theme for 2006 is Ferret Babies. *There's nothing on the planet
more adorable than baby ferrets and this calendar has lots of them in
all colors with a few adult chaperones.* This fall you can ask for the
award-winning calendar by name (Jeanne Carley's Ferret Calendar) as
Jeanne introduces herself to the public. Photos will be available on
her web site in June.
When asked if she had anything to say to ferret owners, Jeanne replied
with a resounding affirmative! Please *remind ferret lovers that, while
(ferrets) are your perfect pet, they really are not everybodys perfect
pet.* Jeanne says there are so many uneducated or misinformed pet owners
in the world that our shelters will always be full. Her work helps
support shelters and clubs, making her calendars available through them
as fundraisers. She will often submit pictures to them, asking for
opinions. These pictures then find their way onto her calendar.
To learn more about Jeannes photography, come meet Jeanne in St. Louis
on April 30 at the 2005 Ferret Symposium!
Jeanne Carley can be contacted at:
The Ferret Company
Post Office Box 7161
Redwood City, CA 94063-7161
Tel/Fax (650) 851-5775
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Website http://www.ferretcompany.com
Meet Me in St. Louis!
April 29 - May 1, 2005
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 4839]
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