Hi all,

I'm writing for my 5.5-year-old post adrenal guy, Grover. Grover just
lost his only friend 2 weeks ago, and is lonely and bored. I'd like
to get him a friend in the very near future, although AT THE MOMENT
(please note I said "at the moment" and spare me any scolding emails
about getting a ferret when money is tight) we just sunk a lot into
his bilateral adrenalectomy at Tufts as well as the emergency hospital
bills for his cagemate. The money situation AT THE MOMENT prevents us
from purchasing another ferret, something I don't really want to do
anyway; babies are cute, but years of working with rescues makes it
tough for me to support the pet store ferret trade. The monkey wrench
to finding him a shelter buddy is that my guy is not vaccinated (reacts
badly) and I can't actually take him to the shelter to meet his future
friend. Because his vet bills wiped us out, even an adoption fee is a
little uncomfortable - at the MOMENT.

A few near-misses have happened...I talked to a friend of someone at
work who wanted a new home for her 2 ferrets, only I was led to believe
that she just wanted to give them up, while in the course of our
conversation it turned out that she wanted to sell them for $100 each.
Most of the ferrets needed re-homing in our parts are for sale, and
for prices that indicate an unrealistically optimistic view of ferret
retail value on their owner's part.

So I have my ear to the ground right now for a ferret or two ferrets
in the Western Mass area who need a new home, who might get along with
a 5-year-old who still has quite a lot of energy, but can be something
of a boor when it comes to introductions; he has very little "ferret
etiquette" and in the past has needed strong personalities to put him
in his place. He's not mean...more like that kid in grade school who
pulled your pigtails. He's a little obnoxious, but also very sweet and
very, very loving when he bonds with another ferret.

Again, please, I'm just putting this out there in case an ideal
situation exists. No flames or lectures on how we shouldn't get another
ferret if we can't afford an adoption fee. We can...just not for
another month or two, and meanwhile my guy is very lonely. I've had
11 ferrets all told and worked with shelters since 1997, and I know
the costs, I know why adoption fees are set as they are, so please no
lectures on the importance of adoption fees. In fact, let me just add
an official disclaimer that I am NOT attacking adoption fees, to nip
that in the bud. To sum up, we're very temporarily a bit strapped
because of some high vet bills, but a ferret who's always had friends
just lost his last one and I'd love to find him somebody to snuggle
with sooner, rather than later, because his happiness is very important
to me, especially since they have such a short time; I don't want him
to spend any more if it lonely than he has to. We would also be
interested in fostering, with the adoption option.

So, if Grover's friend is out there somewhere within reasonable driving
distance from western Mass, please let him know (via me).

Thanks!

Heather Mainville
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[Posted in FML 5489]