This shelter operator met her first ferret in 1978.  It was another 15
years, however, before she became a ferret owner.  Since then more than
500 have crossed her threshold.  Perhaps one of the reasons for her work
on legalization and law making issues regarding ferrets is that it did
take so long.  The state of New Hampshire had an 1831 law on the books
classifying ferrets as wildlife and limiting their use to rabbit hunting.
Within months of legalization ferrets in NH - they were being tossed out
when landlords did not allow - the local humane shelter refused to take
the beasts in.  The rescue-transport was born out of necessity -- and in
18 months a shelter was established.
 
Known to a select few as Mom and grandma, in the ferret world this
woman wears many different hats!  In addition to her legal work, she
is involved in ferret rescue & rehabbing for cruelty case victims.
Currently I am providing some training to animal handlers in the retail
trades in NH, and hope to see this elevated to a larger arena.  What I
do daily is cheerfully volunteer my experience and knowledge on ferret
caretaking, and animal cruelty issues to those in the humane sector and
to ferret caretakers.  Additionally, I provide direct care to inhouse
ferret shelters at Ferret Wise Shelter, and coordinate care for shelter
ferrets in permanent hospice situations.
 
A story that will touch animal lovers everywhere is the story of Brodie,
who was a much loved ferret.  Unfortunately, Brodie hated ME!  But he did
bring a wonderful hospice care-giver and taught a number of us the depths
of ferret emotion and the desire to live again.
 
Born out of necessity, this shelter has been home to the unwanted and
abused since 1998 [when] the facility was deemed a critical care facility
where ACO's [Animal Control officers], humane organizations, domestic
violence programs & police could transport ferrets from investigative
proceedings for rehabilitative care from neglect and abuse situations.
 
The goal?  We remain strictly a "critical care" facility and have begun
to expand our educational programs in the hopes that shelters will
someday not be needed.  The type of care and cost of care [is] far more
demanding than the original plan but [it] has been very rewarding to see
ferrets near death form starvation and other causes once again healthy.
 
In her role as the Education Director of the IFC, this shelter operator
has definite ideas about what she would like to see accomplished.  There
are *never* enough programs to benefit ferret owners and caretakers.
*However,* I would like to see IFC step up and provide more structural
and support education for shelterers and rescuers of ferrets.  To date
there is no organization in the US [that] provides this kind of expertise
for our animals, beyond a manual or guide pamphlet.  The ferret rescue
community has been overlooked by established humane entities for years --
and it will not change for some time to come, I am sad to say.
 
The topics of ferret husbandry, legal issues, sheltering as a business,
fundraising -- all of these topics and many more are needed by ferret
shelterers... the challenge to presenting these tools for successful
sheltering will be to stimulate the shelterers and have them realize
their work will be easier with new information to work with!
 
You can read more about Ferret Wise Shelter and their activities at
http://ferretwise.org.  The email addy is [log in to unmask]
(what else?).
 
To learn more about making a difference where you live, come hear Alicia
Drakiotes of Ferret Wise Shelter.  And don t forget to ask about Brodie!
[Posted in FML issue 4219]