Straight and to the point. The shelter is busting at it's seams. There
no longer is a dinning room in the house, I have tried and tried and
tried not to beg for help, but come up with fundraisers and do things
to raise money. I try not to impose on people, I don't know what else
to do. I am barely keeping up with litter boxes and keeping the litter
in stock. I spend the days trying to keep up and not doing things like,
tying together the year, and coming up with budgets, making calls to
try to get donations for a Car Rally we are trying to organize, I am
not doing the education programs I should be doing.

We had a Squidoo lens contest, all people had to do was design a mini
web page, it was FREE to enter, and 7 or 8 people made them.

We had a bowling fundraiser, the shelter lost money on that, I did a
mass mailing, that was another winner, NOT. No matter what is tried it
turns into ferret poo.

Since the building was announced donations are just about non existent,
thanks to some wonderful Secrete Santas, there are treats and extra
cuddly bedding for the kids.

The land that was purchased for the shelter is just sitting there, the
city codes in Parma, added to the cost, putting it over budget, so with
that and trying to put things in the building we will need, we are
looking at finding a way to raise $30K.

If we didn't spend over $20,000 in vet bills and medical supplies
(Lupron, ADV tests, syringes, and the such) it wouldn't be so bad.

I am behind on the website, there are kids here that no one knows
about, and there is a person near Youngstown who has 12 ferrets from
ages 2 to 7 years, she got them from a "bad" place.

We picked up an escapee today, there is a girl in Canton looking to
place 3, and on Christmas, yes Christmas, a box was left on the porch
with an old emaciated, adrenal ferret in it, barely clinging to life.

If you are in the area, and can foster these 12, that would be most
wonderful, our numbers are over 100, and I am actually afraid to make
a real head count.

Thank you for reading this, and if you can foster these 12 I would be
most grateful.

jean
Jean Caputo-Lee
Director
Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter
4116 Bucyrus Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44109
www.ferretsunlimited.org
Non Profit No Kill

[Posted in FML 5472]