Hi Everybody...
 
I got a message today that made it obvious I need to clarify a few things..
Those of you who sent gifts to help Foggy and the other hurt fuzzys in the
Infirmary, a while back, received a little 'thank you' from Foggy and the
Gang..  that message I mentioned said I 'shouldn't have' and that the money
'was needed for vaccines and things'... I then realized that the folks that
received my little thanks package might think the cash that bought the
papers and the big mailing envelope and the address labels and the postage
fee was money from the gifts they had sent.  Which would be a pretty dumb
waste of $$$ the fur kids so badly need for meds and bandages and special
diet foods and a ton of other things.  And that taking money from the kids
to buy all that stuff was cheating the fuzzys and spending the $$ sent for
their care on an unnecessary elaborate return to the sender that would have
far better been a costless e-mail thank you note that didn't use the gift
funds for a purpose other than they were intended, was the way things should
have been done.  ..  It is that misunderstanding I want to clear up.  The
papers and the cartridges of ink were earned last winter working in a near
freezing industrial park business bay helping a printer clear, clean up, and
pack up a large and prosperous custom printing business..  He had suffered a
severe incident of retinal bleeding in both eyes that had left him with very
minimal sight and made his printing profession and business a thing of the
past.  I spent 10 nights from 12:00 to 6:00 am packing up everything,
cleaning the presses [what a filthy job that was], and scrubbing the whole
place down for him because he couldn't see nearly well enough to do it on
his own..  Instead of $$ I received a huge stock of gorgeous fancy papers,
colored papers, white paper, textured paper, and lots more paper products
left over from his fancy printing service..  as well as hundreds of the
large and larger mailing envelopes, labels for them, pens, a big bunch of
stamp pads [the real fancy complicated multi-colored ones that cost a
fortune] from his custom art design stamp pad counter stock and display,
some pretty fancy stamps ranging from very tiny to huge, and a whole case of
cartridges for my printer in both black and color... enough to print
everything in sight for a couple of years, or about 5 years with
conservative use.  And boxes and boxes of other print business and office
supply business related items and supplies.  I may never need to buy another
paper clip or staple as long as I live!  :]
 
So the only cost for the little thank you packages was my time in making the
contents you received.
 
Next is the postal fees for mailing the packages..  Now we all know the
rates are terrible and envelopes that size [9x14] are even worse..  and
nobody barters with the U.S.  Post Office..  Correct... that involves cold
hard cash..  I do [pick it up and take it home and when its finished return
it] transcription work for a Doctor who has an accent so bad I seem to be
the only one that can figure out what he is saying on his medical case tapes
and transcribe it for the charts and records..  and I have managed to get
pretty good at deciphering his hieroglyphics grade handwriting and get it
transcribed and entered as well.  In return for this work that I do while
rocking hurt fuzzys or in between night checks on fuzzys that need close
observation for a few days, I get ledger entries that entitle me to various
amounts that I can 'spend' on things that I would ordinarily have to give
$$$ for.  Like x-ray machine/operator time and the plates for the x-rays,
and lab fees for blood panels etc., and postage to send things out, and
gasoline for the jeep, and a relatively short list of other like stuff that
costs like crazy and would put a drain on my small fixed income that would
make my little Infirmary an impossibility to operate.  I have worked out
about a dozen of these little trades of work for costly items and services,
over the last 17 years with medical Doctors I have worked with, business
people I have taught their family members, and other people I have been
associated with in one fashion or another.  There is no way, even with the
very small amount I put aside for my food and soap and such, my small fixed
income could pay for the quality of care I require for my little ones.  I
have a few baby sugar gliders each year to sell and a larger bunch of
hedgehogs as well, and there are a couple of other exotics I also sell the
babies from, that pay for a lot of the supplies necessary to take care of my
small number of patients..  at least up until about 7 months ago.  It was
often pretty tight, but we always managed somehow, by never wasting a penny
and not squandering money on extras like a second pair of shoes or an ice
cream cone, none of the kids ever lacked the necessities.  Then about 7
months ago the number of fur kids abruptly increased drastically and only
thru your incredible generosity have I been able to keep up with the ever
increasing needs of my charges.
 
But... I want every one of you that has so kindly sent gifts to these needy
carpet sharks to know..  Not one cent of those funds has gone for any other
purchase than those for the patients in my care.  Not for cleaning supplies,
not for detergent, not for food for my personal little fuzzy family [altho
they eat the same good food, it is purchased separately from my little
income], not for vacuum bags for the multi-purpose vacuum used in the clinic
area, not for one single item not directly related to their medical
treatment and recovery.  Every gift is entered in a new ledger and every
cent spent from that sum is entered by item and receipt number.  Your life
giving gifts of love to Foggy and his fellow patients has not and never will
be spent in any way other than as you intended it to be.  To do otherwise
would be highly unethical and a betrayal of your trust, and would violate my
personal code of conduct by which I have lived for 50 years.  You have my
absolute promise that gifts sent to save the lives of abused, abandoned,
neglected, and injured ferrets will go for that purpose and no other, so
help me God.
 
So..those of you who received our little thank you packages, please enjoy
them, they come from the paws and hearts of Foggy and the Infirmary Gang,
with a tiny little bit of help from their caregiver.
 
 God Bless you and keep you all..   dayna and the Fuzzys
 dayna frazier   102046,3162
'resident of the 'Marvellous Menagerie of Mirthful Mayhem'
             MMOMM!!!
[Posted in FML issue 1610]