Like so many ferrets, Ms. Smokey's humans decided they "had to" move on
without her. They convinced their good-hearted friend, Sandi Robinson,
to adopt the little girl and advised Sandi to feed her mac & cheese,
Fruit Loops and Cat Chow. Sandi, who had never even seen a ferret at
that point, took little Ms. Smokey to the vet after discovering a sore
on her side. The vet recommended an emergency spay - even though Ms.
Smokey had two tiny tattoos in her right ear. $760 in vet bills and
two weeks later, Ms. Smokey crossed painfully over the Rainbow Bridge.

Ms. Smokey's life was lost - but in doing so, she helped to save
hundreds of other ferrets' lives. She had won Sandi's heart. And
Sandi determined that no ferret in her care would ever suffer like
that again.

That was 14 years ago. Today, Sandi runs the Heaven Scent
Rescue/Shelter in Dothan, Alabama, a full-fledged 501(c)(3), and has
some three dozen ferrets in her care.

It is not easy. Most of her home is given over to the ferrets, right
down to living with a bare minimum of furniture to make room for
more ferret cages. Sandi half-jokingly talks about giving up her bed
someday, and sleeping on the couch.

Volunteers are always in short supply, and Sandi has no one else at
home to help with the ferret care. Close family members have suffered
major illnesses and expensive surgeries. On top of all that are the
demands of her job. A cashier, Sandi works all the overtime she can
manage. She has worked as much as 68 hours in a week - and brought
home less than $450.

She has talked about closing, as her life sometimes feels overwhelming.
But the ferrets always tug at her heart. Her local SPCA begs her to
stay open. At one point this summer, Sandi's shelter was the only one
accepting ferrets when the Florida shelters, all running at maximum
capacity, had been forced to close.

How can you help Sandi and the ferrets she works so hard for? One easy
way is to visit the Friends of Ferret Shelters raffle website, where
for just $2 per ticket (three for $5 and six tickets for $10) you could
win one of 12 terrific prizes - gift baskets stuffed with gourmet foods
and lots of ferret goodies, bedding sets, jewelry, holiday-themed
assortments, a complete set of Boston Rounds medicine bottles and
syringes, and more!

This very unusual raffle is our last one of 2007! As always, every
penny from your ticket purchases will be donated to the recipient
ferret shelter.

So many ferrets would be lost without people like Sandi, who give over
their hearts and their homes. We thank you for your support - it truly
does make a difference!

Susann Thiel and Lisa Oestereich
Friends of Ferret Shelters 

[Posted in FML 5776]