Risa,
Your idea sounds great but alas, it is a fairy tail.  My husband and I
for years have offered to go into the local animal shelters like St.
Hubert s, Noah's Arc and Animal Adoption League to name a few, and
instruct them on the care feeding and housing of ferret.  We explained
that we were offering to conduct classes in these areas for FREE but
have been constantly turned down.
 
In our states shelter system most ferrets that are turned in are put to
sleep in 3-4 days after arrival, that's 12-13 days less than dogs and
cats get.  They don't want to learn about ferrets they just want someone
else to take them.  There are however a few that will take ferrets in but
have no idea on how to care for them and refuse any information that we
try to give.
 
As you know, when a ferret goes down, they go down very quickly and
hard.  In a home environment they can be watched almost 24/7, but in
most shelter buildings when quitting time comes, the animals are left
unattended all night until the morning when the shelter reopens.
Personally I vote for home environment and that is how we operate our
rescue.
 
Sincerely,
Debi and the Fuzzy Loving Ferret Rescue
[Posted in FML issue 5140]