(If I can stop the tears long enough, I will be able to respond.)  The
message I just read from the Anonymous Poster touched me deeply.  Ferret
people are truly a wonderful and caring bunch.
 
Yes, I received a most generous donation from this person (I will protect
his/her anonymity since his/her message was not signed) and I am very happy
to announce that:
     RIKKI now has a sponsor ! ! !
     (Anon..Rikki sends more kisses and a big ferret hug to you.)
 
The generosity and concern of this person just overwhelms me.  Thank you,
thank you, thank you.....
 
When I made the decision to start a shelter I thought I had researched
everything and knew pretty much what I was in for.  Over the last year,
there have been very few surprises except for the ones requiring a great
deal of cash for medical expenses.  I *love* every minute of taking care of
these little furballs and if I had to do it over again the only thing I
would change is I would have began *sooner*.
 
Right now there are...wait let me count...19 fuzzies here and I can't tell
you of the joy they bring me.  Nine are my own, and of the nine, three were
purchased, five were rescues before I became a shelter, and I have recently
adopted a heatstroke victim, Buddy, at the recommendation of Buddy's vet
since Buddy needs to be with someone who is very familiar with *normal*
ferret behavior (yeah, I know, okay stop laughing guys) in order to detect
if something should be out of whack.  Once they have had a heatstroke their
internal "thermostat" is prone to "malfunction" and he could even overheat
on a cool day.  That leaves a total of 10 shelter ferrets here now.
 
Prior to the Anonymous Poster's donation and sponsorship of Rikki, I have
received one donation about every 3 to 6 months and they are usually small.
I have managed to make ends meet up until recently.  The shelter is in great
need at this time of assistance of any kind.  I am self-employed (the only
way I can operate the shelter and work, too) and business has fallen off
drastically recently.  I am even looking for a part-time job so I can keep
the shelter running but have not found anything that can fit the shelter
schedule as yet.
 
The last two weeks have been very hectic here.  My best friend, Donna, has
had some personal problems creating a sudden change in her lifestyle and I
have been helping her.  Though she has a job and will pay all of her own
expenses, she will be *moving in* with me this weekend.  I have a spare
bedroom (formerly the "junk room") and I spent two days just clearing that
out.  She is bringing her horse, three house dog, two parakeets, an
aquarium, and three ferrets.  We will be working to set up the pen for the
horse, a run for the dogs, and combine furniture and store all the rest of
"our" junk over the next week.  This change should not affect the shelter
very much and Donna intends to help me out with some of the "poop scooping"
and feeding, so I think it will be a blessing in disguise...if we can just
get through the next two weeks.
 
Last week, Boomer (a rescued male) went in for blood tests for Insulinoma.
Friday I rescued Topanga, (a female in heat) and I am coordinating her
surgery now.  Rikki goes in for her second adrenal surgery.  I got a call
this morning to either take in or do extended boarding for another ferret,
depending on the owners decision.  I have a diabetic cat of my own, nine
years old, who is suddenly not responding to his Insulin shots and getting
worse now instead of better.  I picked up a scrawny, skinny, apparently
"dumped" kitten on the side of the road (just could not leave her there).
Devadander (a rescued whole male) needs to have a vascectomy so he can be
our resident "dud stud", but that can wait, as it is certainly not
life-threatening.  Festus, (a rescued male) has quit eating on his own again
so he gets lots of TLC and duck soup.  Also on Friday, while trying to pick
up Topanga from her previous owner, I had a minor traffic accident (fuzzies
on the brain) and will have to park the car until I decide what to do.  It
is an older car so the repairs will cost far more than the value of the car,
but I probably could not get another for what the repairs to this one will
be.  Since I cannot afford the repairs right now, I can hold off on this
decision.  I have another vehicle I can drive in the meantime.  I am just so
mad at myself over the accident that I can't see straight.  No one was
injured and my neck was only a little sore for two days.
 
A FERRET SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM is exactly what the shelter needs.  If someone
can sponsor a fuzzy (even $5 a month would help greatly) I will send a photo
and frequent updates on the fuzzy they choose to help sponsor.  If I can
find a moment here or there, I will try to post tomorrow with a brief
profile on each shelter ferret here for those wanting to sponsor a fuzzie.
Some have major medical concerns, others I have only had to update on their
shots so their "expenses" have been minimal.  With Donna moving in this
weekend I have *got to* get off of the computer for now and get to work on
stuff here or I will be up all night.
 
Thanks to everyone for their concern and assistance.  Feel free to e-mail me
directly if you like, just give me a day or so to respond if possible.
 
Trish
Ferrets First Rescue & Shelter
Weatherford, Texas
[Posted in FML issue 1515]