Okay, there are people who aren't familiar with the Morris Animal Foundation
(Got a few dozen mails so far.) so I'm going to give the address and number
again for those who want to contribute in memory of Bill Gruber's (BIG's)
Sophie and tell you a bit about the foundation.
 
First: Some people have confused this with the shelter groups.  It's not.
Ela, Judith, and Georgia, could you tell people how to contribute to
shelters in Sophie's memory (or how to get that info or see it on a
website)?
 
Also, I've gotten requests to know which shelters are tax deductible (may be
good to list their ID numbers for deductibility) which again is something I
don't have.  If SOS doesn't have that info, could the shelters represented
here which are tax deductible, please, post about that?
 
Now, on to the Morris Animal Foundation.  This was begun 50 years ago,
originally under a different name but then the name was changed to honor
the founding couple after they passed away.  The founders were the vet who
orginally devised a diet for dogs with kidney problems and his wife.  The
group was originally named after the first dog she made the highly effective
diet for, a seeing eye dog.  (These two were also greatly involved with
Seeing Eye and he was one of the heads of two veterinary professionals'
groups in the country at different times.) Anyway, a food maker wound up
buying the formula from the couple and it was sold with the stipulation that
the moneys in full went into founding and supplying a trust to cover all
administrative costs for the Morris Animal Foundation, so all money sent
there goes directly into helping sick animals.  The administrative costs are
not something you have to help cover.  MAF helps by improving veterinary
care.  It funds almost 2 million dollars worth of veterinary research each
year.  We have been lucky because ferret health care projects have so far
been funded in larger proportions than contributions have been received from
ferret owners.  They took monies from the general fund because some of their
advising vets deemed a series of projects essential.  (Those are done now,
BTW, so we really need to up the money being contributed directly for ferret
health care to help fund the veterinary projects which will improve medical
care for our ferrets.) Have you had your heart broken by adrenal growths,
cardiomyopathy, insulinomae, or other ferret health problems, or are you
afraid you will in the future?  Then this is the place to contribute.  Steve
and I checked them out with researchers at several veterinary schools and at
the AMC before we became contributors and everyone we asked had only good
things to say about them.  We give to a number of places each year, but this
is one of the choice three (The two others are universities.) in our wills.
 
We have asked them to keep a list of the names of people who contribute in
Sophie's memory to send on to BIll, and have given them Bill's (BIG's)
snail mail address.  Say that Sukie Crandall sent you, that your money is
going to the ferret fund, and that you are contributing in memory of Bill
Gruber's Sophie.   They ARE tax deductible.  You can call them at
1-800-243-2345, or write Morris Animal Foundation, 45 Inverness Drive East,
Englewood, CO 80112-5480.  If you are local to them (Colorado) the local
number is (303) 790-2345.
 
Thank you so much for any of the kind things people are doing to remember
Sophie.  Bill does so much for each of us every single day of the year.  I
think I can recall only two days he's taken off in all his time as
moderator, and he does a lot behind the scenes as well.  Helping other
ferrets is just something Steve and I have found helps us heal when we are
in mourning, so we suspect it could also help Bill, as well as helping many
ferrets live longer and happier lives.
 
BTW, it is also possible for you to find the addresses and to give directly
to some places which do veterinary health research.  We've also given to the
AMC in NYC (You CAN specify the exotics group.), to the veterinary group at
MIT, to the one in WSU, and I am sure you can find some others.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 2378]