Sheltering is probably the hardest thing anyone can do for ferrets.
There are three basics -- okay, 4 -- that sheltering needs to be done
in a way that is best for the ferrets: It needs love, which provides
its foundation but living on a foundation alone is pretty difficult.
It needs tons of work every single day which provides the walls but
the rain can still get in if a roof isn't present, and conversely, a
roof can't float without walls so upon those walls of willingness to
work daily has to be a roof of not only medical care by the vets but
of medical learning by the shelter people (yes, one more type of work
needed) because that knowledge allows rapid response and prevents
serious errors.  What is the fourth?  Well, its not possible to have
utilities and supplies without a source of funding.  Talk about a huge
undertaking.
 
The result is that there are some excellent shelters out there but the
demands are so huge that any added need in the primary people's lives
can destroy the shelters, there are some poor shelters out there (dirty,
or unable to provide the sort of medical knowledge including at the
shelter itself which is really needed, or sometimes both), and there are
a lot of shelters where those incredible hard workers are also holding
on by the skin of their teeth.
 
The more ferrets there are, the harder things get for those who run
ferret shelters, and even though they often manage levels of work and
accomplishments of learning that seem super-human they are still as
human as any of the rest of us.
 
In many areas general shelters must be more and more relied upon.  If
they are good they have the cleaning work and donation gathering under
control, but a number really need help in learning about ferrets.  As
there are more and more ferrets there will be more and more need for
these shelters to have constructive, friendly, helpful guidance.
 
Let's have a discussion or ways to build bonds with general shelters,
ways to educate general shelters, established problems which need to
be overcome, ideas on how to manage that, and so on, please.
 
 
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5318]