I just want to shout "Thank you!!" to Lori Sies and everyone who
has pitched in to help with her rescue of the DMK ferrets - on-site
volunteers; those who have worked hard in the background on transport,
adoptions and more; veterinarians who have offered to spay, neuter
and vax these kids for free or at discount; and all those who are
generously donating whatever they can afford to help get these
beautiful, long-suffering ferrets the TLC they so desperately need.
You are all heroes.

Take a moment to imagine your beloved ferrets spending their entire
lives sleeping and walking on thin, rusty metal wire, in a cage about
10 inches wide by 2 feet long, with feces, cobwebs and spiders, dirt
and leaves, a filthy metal water trough and a splintered wood feeder
bin with moldy food congealed inside. Imagine any ferret living like
that. That is how dozens of these cages came straight from DMK's
"farm"!!!!

Some of these ferrets have spent years in cages like that. They don't
know what a hammie is for, and have never seen a toy. Until they got to
Lori's they had never used a water bottle or had a scrap of bedding.
Many have never felt a gentle human touch.

Last week, these poor animals endured temperatures in the mid-90s and I
am saddened and scared by the forecast for temps back in the high 80s.
How these ferrets have survived the heat and stress thus far, i don't
know - it's just a miracle. Please pray the miracles continue!!!

They are truly wonderful ferrets. The vast majority are scared but are
NOT biters!!!! They respond to a loving touch and seem to understand
that we are trying to help. Some have enough hope and spirit to grasp
at their cage wire and beg you, with pleading eyes, to make their lives
a little easier.

There are no words to describe the joy we felt upon witnessing a DMK
ferret transferred to a clean cage big enough to move around in for the
first time in their lives. Dancing on a bed of soft fabric. I can only
tell you that we all stood there, transfixed, with tears streaming down
our faces. All we wanted was for more of them to be able to experience
that joy.

When I arrived home last Thursday and began preparing 13 ferrets for
the next leg of their rescue journey, I put each kid in a playpen while
cleaning out his/her crate. You wouldn't believe how they danced and
jumped for joy. For the first time in their whole lives, they felt a
thick, soft quilt under their feet. One big ol' hob in particular just
blew my mind. He not only danced, he began dooking like mad. He had to
be at least 3 years old. A big, gorgeous boy. It was heartbreaking
the way he went silent and resignedly allowed me put him back in the
carrier for the rest of his trip. Of course he didn't understand it
was for just a few more hours. But now he's in a New England shelter
dancing happily, and he will never again suffer the agony of being
cooped up in one of those horrible breeder pens from DMK.

PLEASE if you can, get to Lori's and help. A day or two, it doesn't
matter. Please!! More hands makes the work easier. When there are too
few volunteers (and unfortunately in any disaster, there almost always
are!!!), the ones who do respond on-site are worked beyond the point
of exhaustion. Guess who suffers most? Yes - the animals!!! The more
humans there are to help, the safer and more comfortable these ferrets
will be until they can move on to shelters, fosters and 4-ever homes.

If you absolutely can't get to Lori's, go to help a shelter near you
that has taken in DMK kids. Shelters all over the country are doing
this, so there IS one within a day's drive of wherever you are! Please
go and helped that over-worked, probably flat-broke shelter operator
care for these precious furkids. A day, a few hours, anything!!! It
truly will make a difference.

Susann Thiel

[Posted in FML 5748]