It's with a heavy heart that I post this message.
 
I won't go into all the details why at the moment, but my husband and I are
under a court order to not own any pets for two years.  Before anyone
wonders, no, it's not an issue of us abusing our animals.  OK, I'll go into
some brief detail.
 
Basically, we were moving in January after buying a new house.  We had moved
all the big funiture and the ferrets, but left our birds and gerbils for a
couple days so we wouldn't have to travel with ferrets and the other animals
in the car at the same time.  My husband was about a week late with the
rent, and the apartment manager inspected teh place, and called animal
control because they thought we had abaondoned the animals, who called the
sherrif's department because the house was a mess -- of course, we were
moving, but anyway.... Because there was a picture of our daughter on the
wall, and because some of the ferret mess had spilled from the litter boxes
as we moved them and we simply decided to come back an clean it up later, we
were charged with child endangerment/abuse.
 
At any rate, the deal we worked out with the prosecutors means we jump
through some social services hoops for two years and then the charge is
wiped from the record, but during those two years we can have no animals
in our house.  So, we need someone to take our ferrets, if possible.
 
We've briefly discussed the possibility of boarding them for the two years
(we will likely do this with our dog) and the possibility of someone
adopting them outright.  At this point we're still uncertain which might be
the better option -- which is going to be less stressful on the ferrets
themselves, and less emotionally difficult for the person boarding/adopting
them.  If anyone is interested, we'll work out the details with that person.
 
We think they'll adjust to a new home OK, but in order to reduce the stress
on them, would like all six to go together, although I know that could be
difficult.  All are in good health, except Tia, who has a heart murmur and
has difficulty keeping weight on.  All are rescues except for Coffee, so
that's another reason why we wish to reduce the stress.  We'll provide all
medical records and tags to anyone wantingn to adopt, of course, and if it's
decided to go the boarding route, we'll pay for the food/vet care.  But we
HAVE to find them a home within the next three weeks.  Any help would be
appreciated.
 
WE live in Cheyenne, WY, so for ease of transport, someone in a neighboring
state would probably be best.  If we need to drive to Utah or Kansas or
something like that, it can probably be arranged.
 
Michelle
Flutist
[Posted in FML issue 2282]