I just came back from a NEAT weekend spent at Ferretwise Shelter's Volunteer
Weekend in New Hampshire, and I wanted to tell all of you about it.  It was
a great experience!
 
This is the first time that I have EVER visited a ferret shelter, so I
really didn't know what to expect before I went.  I was impressed not only
with the setup, but with the personal care each animal receives ... almost
as if he/she were in a private home.  I was also really impressed with the
setup that Alicia and Dino have to care for the animals ..  including a
hydrotherapy unit for disabled animals.  Wow.
 
There was one little ferret in particular in the shelter whom I particularly
fell in love with, and I wish I could have taken her home with me.  Her name
is "Fe" (pronounce "fee"), and she's a rather dark, beautiful little sable
girl.  Her owner dropped her off about three weeks ago, because his fiancee
doesn't like her (?!) Apparently, he had also neglected her quite a bit ..
he hadn't noticed that as she was continuing to grow, her collar was getting
too tight and choking her.  She now has a big scar all the way around her
neck where the skin/fur was actually growing around her collar.
 
Alicia tells me that Fe has been quite depressed during her time at the
shelter, and really seems to miss her owner.  (She was still sleeping in his
old shorts that he had left with her, which really made me sad).  She seems
to be slowly working her way out of her depression, though, and is
overcoming a biting problem as well.  (Like I said, she doesn't seem to have
been handled much before she made it to Ferretwise).  She's a real little
doll ..  you should see her beautiful face.  Ferretwise has a LOT of
beautiful animals in the shelter, but this one struck a particular chord
with me for some reason.  Ahhh ... I hope she finds a good home soon!
 
In other news, we repainted one side of the main shelter room (and a
bookcase) white, and it looks GORGEOUS!  I also helped Alicia to catalog the
Chinese Auction items for the Ferret Walk on June 21st ... there's a lot of
NEAT merchandise there, including T-shirts, ferret tents, a BIG bag of
Mazuri, the biggest amethyst crystal I've ever seen, a ferret mug (I donated
that!), several books (one is autographed), and a LOT of other neat stuff.
 
Oh, and I saw the Healing Beads (jewelry) that will be raffled off on June
21st ... a necklace with matching bracelet and earrings.  They're so
beautiful!  The necklace and bracelet are done in freshwater pearls and
turquise beads, and the earrings match, with sterling silver accents.  Can't
wait to hear who wins them.
 
That's about it.  I was really impressed with the whole weekend.  I met so
many nice ferrets ... both shelter ferrets and Alicia/Dino's personal
ferrets, I had a great time painting, and, best of all, I got to see how a
shelter operates.  I also, btw, got to see where parts of the movie Jumanji
(sp?) were filmed, as I'm sure everyone attending the Ferret Walk will be
able to see!  Oh, and I bought a NEAT ceramic (handmade!) ferret mug from
Ferretwise which I can't wait to take to work tomorrow.  What a great
weekend!
 
The fuzzies are busy unpacking me right now ... gotta run!  Hope everyone
else had an equally nice weekend ...
 
- Ela
 
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   (000)___(000)        Ela Heyn
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[Posted in FML issue 1948]