Dayne wrote:
 
>Most rescue/shelter/sanctuary centers are required to have local and
>sometimes state liciences in order to operate at all.
 
Not true, we aren't required to have any licences and the SPCA never ever
comes to our home to inspect, but they send everyone who calls wanting
ferrets our way.  They also give us ferrets when they get them in, on
ocassion, (feeling that we do a much better job at placing them than they
ever could) but never have they ever even *seen* my shelter.  I don't
particularly need people approaching my shelter with a list of demands
before they feel they can offer their time or help.  There are many
wonderful people who offer time and money and whatever else they can because
they know *me* and they have adopted my animals and they know how hard we
work to keep every critter in the best shape during their stay with us.
 
I run my shelter to my own specifications, which are very high, and anybody
who has visited it knows that.  I urge everyone to also take into account
personal feelings about the shelter and the shelter operator along with
other criteria.  But if someone told me they wanted to see a copy of my last
SPCA inspection and wanted to bother my very kind and wonderful vet for
verification of my track record before they lifted one little finger, I'd
tell them to take a little hike right outside my front door, across the lawn
and back to their vehicle.  Do you have a permit to operate your shelter?
Does Fish and Game come and inspect your home and see that the ferrets are
being treated properly?
 
I merely want people to remember that the most important thing is to ask if
you get a copy of the vaccination papers with the adoption, check and see
that the cages are clean (I know some shelters get very full and maybe
cannot keep up with the workload, but we manage to clean cages *every* day),
do your research and ask the shelter operator lots of ferret questions about
ferret care and measure their responses against what you know to be true,
take a good look at the animals and see that nails aren't too long, coats
aren't dirty etc and trust your instincts about the shelter operator.  Much
of the time, we go on instinct and have turned several people down for
adoption over the phone, and we usually have made the best decision.
Besides, it is *easy* for any shelter to clean a shelter and get it looking
well before an inspection, and it is easy to fool the people who do these
inspections with fudged paperwork etc.  There is more to gauging a shelter
than the score it rated on its last inspection exam.
 
Ela: Scooter is up there with my Tunk, who digs all litter out of boxes and
all food out of dishes.  I have yet to find anything that will stop him.
However, with our kits what we did was put a small feeder really high up so
they must stand on tippy toe to reach it, then underneath we zap strapped a
plastic dog bowl into which many pieces still fall.  We had to Zap strap the
bottom of the small feeder to the cage as well, or else Zippee would fling
it around from underneath.  We are going through less food than before.
Maybe this will help?  Or find a bowl that has an edge that curves inward,
since most food will then fall back in.  Or how about a bowl where they
couldn't reach the top opening, but could *just* get their head in a side
hole, but not their shoulders, to remove the food?  I read a bunch of these
suggestions in the Ferrets NorthWest newsletter as they seem to have worked
for them.  Good luck, and tell Scooter his mail is coming!
 
Sheena
WFHHF and FAGV
[Posted in FML issue 1614]