To Judith with the new fuzzies:
 
Our club runs a shelter and we never adopt out ferrets that require surgery
- we have it done ourselves and pay for it ourselves - and then, if the
ferret recovers ok and gets a clean bill of health, then we adopt them out.
 
Generally with older ferrets (5 and over) we give them away to caring loving
homes, with the understanding that the owner is aware that with older
ferrets, increased vet bills may be a reality.
 
Younger ferrets that we get in our shelter, generally more than pay for
themselves (unless they need to be neutered) and the sick ones also.  We
have them health checked and vaccinated before adopting out, and that is a
minimal cost.
 
Our shelter is supported by our club dues, ferret sales, T-shirt sales, etc,
as well as donations.  We recently had a member who paid for the surgery of
2 of our shelter ferrets - one had adrenal surgery and the other had
pancreatic surgery - it was close to $300.  She doesn't want to adopt the
ferrets - she has 5 of her own, but it was something she wanted to do.
 
IMO - and this is just my opinion - if you adopted these 2 ferrets and you
intend to pay for their surgery and vet bills to get them back on the road
to recovery, you shouldn't even have to pay a donation.  You are definitely
doing that shelter a very big favor by paying for the surgery yourself.
Now, if you *want* to give a donation, that's different, but IMO you
shouldn't be 'required' to do so.
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
Rochester, NY
[Posted in FML issue 1518]