Hello Everyone!
 
 After hearing about the wonderful Ferret Mailing List for months, my
husband and I finally decided it was time to join the rest of the world on
the information superhighway!  I have just received a ton of back issues of
the FML and I have been reading them all for days!  The FML is fantastic
and I'm so happy to finally be able to be a part of it.
 
 
 My name is Tracey-Lee and my husband (Bruce) and I have been owned by our
ferrets for the last ten years. We have eight "ferrets/children", seven of
which are rescues.  Their names are Tilly, Teddy, Tabatha, Reilly, Oliver,
Tristan, Bailey and Sabastian.  Needless to say, our large family keeps us
very busy and we love them all so very much.
 
 I hope you wont mind if I take a little bit of time to tell you about
myself. I have a disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis.  It's a rather
nasty form of arthritis that is attacking my spine, chest, hips and neck.
Two years ago the disease became very aggresive and I was forced to give up
my job.  I became   house bound and needless to say I was suddenly very
isolated and  extremely depressed. I felt worthless and thought my life was
over at 27 years of age.  For a while, I held a great "pity party" for
myself and there were many  days that I felt I just didn't want to wake up
in the morning. During the toughest times the only thing that could cheer
me up was watching our ferrets frolic about the house!  Only they could
make me laugh and in turn, make me feel better.  I've come a long way in
the last two years and I have a wonderful husband and  eight ferrets to
thank for that! I felt I had to come up with a way to help ferrets because
mine had been such an inspiration to me.  So,  my veterinarian started to
give out my name and phone number to folks who needed information about
ferrets.  I happily answered any and all questions I could and as the phone
calls became more numerous I began a 24 Hour Ferret Information Hotline.
Over the last 18 months,  I've received hundreds of calls and have been
able to help many new ferret owners, veteran owners and future owners.  As
the hot line grew, so did the requests for a ferret club and finally in
March of this year we began the  Ferret & Friends Club & Rescue and at the
same time I mailed out my very first Ferrets & Friends Club Newsletter.
Things have certainly been moving ahead quickly and although I sometimes
find it hard to keep up and take care of myself too, I am so thoroughly
happy now!
 
 The main functions of the F&F Club are to rescue abandoned, abused or
orphaned ferrets and to educate anyone and everyone about the wild and
wonderful world of ferret ownership!  An added bonus for me is that  the
newsletter has received rave reviews and everyone seems to enjoy it very
much!
 
 Since April of this year, we have rescued over 47 ferrets and all of them
have been placed in loving new homes.  The F&F Club does not promote the
breeding of ferrets and all rescues are spayed/neutered and given Canine
Distemper shots before they are placed in their new homes. We have a large
rescue room in our home and another large room is designated as  the
"Ferret Playroom".  We treat each and every ferret as if he or she were our
own until the day new "parents" can be found. The only adoption fee we
charge is the ferret's veterinary  bill,  plus food & litter.  It has been
a very expensive undertaking for us but it is the one thing I can do
despite my physical challenges and the initial cost to begin the club was
worth every penny. I keep in touch with all my "foster kids" and see 90% of
them at our bi-monthly get-togethers!  I have met hundreds of great people
and even more ferrets...needless to say, I am no longer isolated. (Starting
a club is a wonderful way to meet people if you are physically challenged!)
:)!
 
 There have been times when I have felt a little overwhelmed but that
feeling fades when I walk into the rescue room and see all the little
furballs curled up in their blankets, fast asleep.  I know they are safe
and loved and soon will be able to go to carefully selected new homes where
they will hopefully be able to live out the rest of their lives.
 
 I am so glad to be able to be a part of the FML.  Just knowing you're all
out there keeps me from feeling like I'm all alone in this fast growing
project of mine.  We all can learn from each other and this FML is a
wonderful resource.  I'd love to hear from you and if anyone would like a
copy of our newsletter please feel free to let me know...I'll be happy to
snail mail one to you.  There's so much more I'd like to tell you all but I
have taken up more than my share of room here so I will close for now. If
you have any questions about the Ferrets & Friends Club & Rescue, please
e-mail me at:
 
[log in to unmask]
 
I look forward to posting here again soon and reading future FMLs.
Sincerely,
Tracey-Lee Rein
& The
Zoo!
[Posted in FML issue 1047]