Robin,

I am on BOTH sides of the fence. Not only am I a Ferret Rescue who put
a few ferrets on the Giving Tree this year, "BUT", I was also a Secret
Santa to "5" ferrets off the Giving Tree.

YES, rescue/ shelter moms & dads are busy especially during the
holidays, "BUT", some people who picked ferrets from the Tree never
contact the rescues/shelters letting them know their kids were picked.
So, since we may not know who the Santas are because "WE" never got an
e-mail from the Santas letting us know who they are, there is no way to
let them know if the gifts ever arrived never mind saying Thank you.

This is an idea for next year as this is what I do.

1) When you pick a kid from one of the Trees, E-MAIL the rescue/shelter
mom/dad to let them know you have picked their kid to be Santa too.

2) E-mail the rescue shelter to let them know WHEN you are sending the
gifts out ( Give the date it was sent.).

3) Send gifts by way of Priority Mail, UPS, DHL, or 1st Class Mail
being insured. This way, if the package gets lost, then it can be
traced to see where it is.

4) Allow 2-3 weeks for the gifts sent 1st Class to reach their
distinction depending on how it was sent. Priority Mail takes 2-4
days to reach it's destination, where as UPS & DHL take 1-2 days.

5) Do a follow up e-mail to the rescue/shelter to make sure the gifts
have arrived. If they haven't then follow step #3.
 
Mishie, Wingnut & Kiwi didn't receive their gifts in time for Christmas
BUT, their Santa sent me an e-mail explaining why. I received them last
Friday and then sent the Santa an e-mail from the girls saying THANK
YOU for their gifts.

Now as far as Jerry Springer goes, he never received anything. I had to
e-mail Kris to find out who his Santa was and what her e-mail address
was so I could see if anything was coming for him. As it turns out,
this same person also picked a furkid from my friend's rescue. Her
little boy didn't receive anything for him from this person either.

I asked this person for certain information in order to trace the
packages. Instead of what I asked for, she sent me an e-mail saying
she mailed out Jerry's present on December 26th. She gave me no other
information.
 
This is another suggestion for people who have decided to be Santa to
these kids. We all know financial situations change. If for some reason
you cannot fill you obligation as Santa, just e-mail Kris and let him
know, it's that simple. This way the kids can be put back on the Tree
as AVAILABLE" and still needing a Santa. This way non of the kids will
go without Christmas presents.

Please remember, it is always better to give than receive and you
should never do something nice or out of the goodness of your heart
expecting something in return. Helping out a rescue/shelter in any
way you can shows that you care and that us rescues/shelters are
appreciated for everything we do for the love of the furkids.
 
Debi & the Fuzzy Loving Ferret Rescue Furkids

[Posted in FML 5482]