HI,
 
My wife and I have a small shelter in our home.  At the peak, we've had 16-17
at one time.  We seem to average about 10 or so.  Total for the year was
somewhere close to 200.
 
Shelters take a tremendous amount of time.  My wife does not go out to work,
but spends a large portion of her time in "shelter work".  I refer to it as
"my second full-time job."  Neither of us are complaining.  We enjoy what we
are doing - love all of the ferrets.
 
But, running a shelter means more than just bringing in unwanted ones and
finding good homes for them.  Ten - 17 extra ferrets means a lot of litterbox
detail; constantly filling food and water dishes; playing and holding each
and every one; scheduling play-times for those that don't get along with
others; nail clipping, ear cleaning, bathing.  It means preparing educational
material for the potential adopters; screening them as potential owners;
in-depth inteviewing; and turning some people away.
 
It costs money too.  A ferret with an adrenal tumor can cost you nearly $300,
that is if you can find a vet that knows ferrets and is willing to give your
shelter a break (thank you Dr. Mike Dutton).  You will have to buy the
supplies and vaccines to give the distemper shots (necessary to keep the
ferrets safe); and perhaps even have each one given rabies vaccinations by a
vet.   Cages are a necessity and expensive even if you make them yourself.
 Many of the ferrets that you get will be in ill health, starved, old, with
cancers, broken teeth.  These you will likely Foster to caring people and
remain responsible for the vet bills.  Some will be totally unsocialized and
require nip-training and litterbox training.  With the young healthy ones you
might be able to ask for a donation of $60.  A couple of those may cover your
ferret food bill; one more and maybe cover the the litter bill; 5 more and
you have recovered the cost of one operation.  In other words, shelters do
not "make" money; quite the opposite.
 
I don't want to discourage you.  As I said we find great enjoyment in knowing
we are helping even a little bit.  But, if you are short of time and funds
right now, you may want to hold off until you have more of both.  In the
meantime maybe you can find a local shelter where you can help out.  Believe
me you will be welcomed with open arms.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to EMAIL me or phone me at
603-424-2941.  Always happy to talk about ferrets.
 
Dick Bossart
[Posted in FML issue 1075]