This is not word for word, but is pretty close to the questionnaire that
Fuzztek Shelter uses.  I put in paranthesis the reasons behind each
question.  We would NEVER ask for paystubs (not our business!), and where
someone works might come up in conversation, but unless they work for a
lab known to use ferrets for medical experiments, or travel 345 overnights
a year that the ferret would be alone most of the time, etc., it wouldn't
really matter to us.  As you can see, we ask enough to get an idea about
how the ferret will be cared for, and to find out if there are any areas
that we might be able to make suggestions on (do they need a cage, we can
refer them to a local builder...feeding garbage pet store ferret food, we
can give them the Ferret Store catalogue with good foods circled...need a
vet referral, no problem, we'll send them to one in their area).
 
Also, we don't ship, but will under some circumstances adopt to people from
out of state.
 
::::::::::::Start of questionnaire::::::::::::::
 
Why do you want to adopt?  (A good, general question that tells us a lot
about the adopter)
 
What age/color/sex are you looking for?  (The person who has their heart
set on a 10 week old perfect silver-mitt or cinnamon we often refer to a
breeder...)
 
Have you have ever owned a ferret before?  (some ferrets would be better
for first timers than others)
 
What happened to them?  (the person who has had 4 ferrets escape or die
accidently in the past three years is not the person we want to adopt to.
It is case by case.)
 
Do you have ferrets now?  How many?  Ages?  (this is to make sure that we
aren't adopting to a collector with 50 ferrets or adopting a five month
old to someone with an 8 year old geriatric ferret who would stress with
the kit.)
 
What do you feed them?  (Gives us a chance to educate, to make sure they
are willing to spend the money on a good food, and don't think a ferret
eats the same things as a parrot!...)
 
Are they altered?  (General info, a person with a hob who wants a playmate
for him is a person who might not understand how ornary hobs can get with
other ferrets.  We NEVER adopt out an unaltered ferret.)
 
Have your ferrets been exposed to ECE or Aluetians Virus?  (Most people
don't know, but again, it helps with education.  If they say yes to either,
we can act accordingly as well.)
 
What other pets do you have?  (Don't want to adopt a ferret who is
terrified of cats to someone with three of them)
 
In the past 5 years have you had a pet die accidently?  Describe.  (Again,
not an immediate disqual, we feel everyone is entitled to one mistake.  But
the person who has had their kids kill their past five pets, well, I guess
you can all figure that one out.  It is case by case.)
 
Who lives in your household?  (We don't disqualify people with kids, but
obviously there are some ferrets you wouldn't adopt to them, and we also
want to see how the kids act around the ferret before sending it home with
them.  Obviously people who already have a ferret in their family have a
leg up on this one already.)
 
Do you own/rent?  (We tell those who rent that we need to check with their
landlord.  In all honesty, we seldom do, because those who aren't allowed
to have a ferret will balk at this to begin with.  Same goes for folks who
live in condo's with restrictions.)
 
Who is your vet?  (We often do call the vet to check and make sure the
animals are seen regularly, if we have any question about it.  We don't ask
anything else of the vet, that people take their animals in regularly says
a lot... Some vets will volunteer information about the owner, generally
saying they take great care of their animals :->)
 
Who will be caring for the ferret?  (Rules out the people who want to teach
their 4-5 year old "responsibility")
 
Who will care for it while you are on vacation?  (More than anything we use
this as a "wake up call" that they need to think about things like this.
We also tell them we do boarding.)
 
Describe where your ferret will be kept in detail.  (In the basement
(unfinished) in a wodden crate would be a bad answer here)  It also helps
us make sure they understand that caging a ferret for part of the day is
not a bad thing.
 
We also ask how much they think it will cost to own a ferret per year, and
if they are financially and emoptionally prepared to spend $500 or more on
vet bills if their ferret gets sick.  (Again, we don't ask how much money
they make, we just want to alert them to the fact that vet bills can add
up.)
 
I would welcome feedback on all of this!
 
Anne
[Posted in FML issue 2933]