The Triangle Ferret Lovers club of NC has been given the opportunity to
visit with ailing children and their parents at the well-known Ronald
McDonald House, Durham location.
 
Our previous Education Day (at an elementary school) included:
 
"We had 3 people and 4 ferrets with us.  We had one full-size cage that
the ferrets could run in while one at a time was "put on display".  We
also took all assorted gear to show: collars, harnesses, leashes, safe
and un-safe toys, etc.
 
We really tried to emphasize two things: that these aren't wild animals,
and that they do take a lot of time and money.  Not pets for young children
or really busy adults.
 
Depending on the age of kids we discussed briefly:
-Rough history: descending from polecats, domesticated since Ancient Rome,
 used as cats are today (rodent control).
-Basic anatomy: different colors, long flexible bodies, that they are
 carnivores, that they cannot survive in the wild.
-Basic maintenance: feeding (high quality-not grocery store cat food),
 bedding (blankets or clothing-not cedar chips), to cage (proper caging)
 or not, ferret-proofing, trim nails, clean ears, lots of play time and
 human attention, yearly vet visits and possible illnesses that ferrets
 are prone to.
 
Our only real problem is that all the kids wanted to hold the ferrets.  We
compromised by us holding them or letting the ferrets run around the kids
on a leash and the kids could pet them."
 
If you would like to volunteer for this event, please call the TriFL
Education Chairperson Cindy Barnes @ 919/553-0114 or join us at this
Saturday's social from 4:30p-6:30p in Morrisville to plan the date and
time convenient to all.
 
Thanks for helping out!
 
Shari Gunter
Club Contact
Triangle Ferret Lovers club, NC
http://www.trifl.org
[Posted in FML issue 2482]