I just got the sweetest message from Judith White, Georgia Wood, and Ela
Heyn.  Thanks to the donations that YOU, the FMLers, gave to the Shelter
Fund, there is now a credit waiting for me at Jeffers to use on shelter
supplies.  This couldn't have come at a better time.  We went from nine
ferrets to 25 in a week, granted some are just boarders, but still we're
bursting a bit, and we have more due to arrive next week.  This is just my
branch of the PFRA, it doesn't count the other two PFRA branches.
 
Many people may not realize what it's like to run a shelter.  It's the most
fulfilling and heartbreaking experience, all at the same time.  It costs
more than most of us can generally afford just to keep ferrets fed and
medicated, but I rarely hear a shelter director complain about it.  We see
the ferrets come in confused and unaware of why their home is no longer
their home, then go into homes and become reborn when they realize that they
had never really known what living was all about until they finally found a
REAL home.  The letters I get from people who have adopted from me bring
tears to my eyes.  This keeps me going.  It is so wonderful that so many of
you have helped to support the shelters.  I know I am not the only shelter
to have benefitted from the donations to the Shelter Fund.  Every dollar
counts.  The donation that I just received will go to syringes and
vaccinations, which we always need, the ferrets that come in almost NEVER
are current.
 
You all are so wonderful.  You participate in auctions to benefit the
ferrets, you donate to the Shelter Fund, you send out single dollars to ten
shelters.  You buy coupon books and coloring books and check out Judith's
telephone and internet service.  All of this makes so much of a difference,
not to shelter Directors, but to shelter FERRETS.
 
Let me tell you about the most recent two ferrets I took in.  Their names
are Shadow and Rocky.  Shadow is an adorable little six year old female
chocolate.  She is very active and playful, but has a horrible wheeze in her
lungs which I fear is cardiomyopathy but hope is a remnant of a cold.  Her
blood sugar was 62 last week, she's being re-checked this weekend, we're
hoping she was just stressed and it will be higher, but if not, she's got
insulinoma.  We don't find many homes for cancer ferrets (except for Jenni
Glenn, proud owner of Ozzy, Oso, and Zeppelin who had her pick of ferrets
and took the one that had cancer--bless you Jenni!!) no matter how cute they
are or how many kisses they give.  But Shadow will get all of the medical
treatments that she needs, no matter the cost.
 
Rocky, who I call Little Rock, is a seven year old that I believe is a
sable.  I was told that she had insulinoma when the owner called to tell me
she couldn't keep Shadow and Rocky any longer.  When I arrived, I found a
ferret bald from neck to tail.  She is blind as a bat.  She looks like the
Budweiser ferret.  Her back claws have NEVER been clipped, evident because
they were the most distorted, bent, twisted, orange, thick growths I've ever
seen, they resembled onion rings.  The first thing that she did when I
picked her up was gave me kisses.  I hope that meant that she finally found
someone that was going to give her the care that she was so visibly crying
out for.  Little Rock was a healthy size when I took her in, but she became
depressed shortly after arriving and stopped eating.  For five long days, I
tried to find something, anything that she would eat, but to no avail.  I
was really starting to think I would lose her.  Miraculously, two days ago
she started eating and I swear, every time I checked on her she was munching
away!  My vet, who is not quick to do surgery, wholeheartedly feels that we
should give it a try for Little Rock.  The estimate came to $250-$450,
depending on the length of surgery and if we need to do biopsies and how
much we need to remove.  This is the cost after my discount.  But never once
did I think not to do it.  The moment she reached up and gave me those
kisses, she'd stolen my heart.  She's sure to break it, but I'll be darned
if I won't make every day special for her until that day comes.
 
I just want to say again, to each and every one of you who donated even a
dollar, THANK YOU.  It has not gone unnoticed, nor unappreciated.  It means
more than words can say.
 
Sincerely,
Little Rock, Shadow, Bino, Lucy, Mittens, Zim Zum, Marty, Twiggy, Napoleon,
Josephine, and Koto (shelter ferrets, adoptable and permanent): "Please
keep donating... if it weren't for donations, we probably wouldn't be here
right now!!"
And their Shelter Mom,
Kymberlie Becker Barone
Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
Montgomery County Branch
"Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady
Mookie, Mikayla, Slinky: "M-oooo-mmm, why didn't you tell them about US, we
were rescues, too!" (Because I kept you guys just because I fell in love
with you and therefore you're no longer shelter ferrets, you're just mine!)
Lil' Grunt, Kerplunk, Trouble, and Patchwork Princess: "Shelter, smelter.
We're just happy to have a home where we are LOVED!"
[Posted in FML issue 2323]