I read Cheryl's post yesterday about looking for a free ferret to adopt
because at the moment $75 seems steep to pay for one from a shelter. I'd
just like to offer some thoughts for everybody (not just Cheryl) who might
be wondering why a shelter wouldn't be agreeable to this. No flames here
folks, just info:
Shelter ferrets have been vet-checked and brought up-to-date on their
vaccinations, to the tune of about $75-$80 per ferret in some cases.
Shelters usually LOSE money when they adopt, they do not profit. Their
main goal is to place the ferrets in loving homes, but if they let them
go for nothing, even to VERY loving homes, the shelter would quickly
fold financially. Besides being well-checked for health issues, shelter
ferrets are only adopted out when they have any and all behavioral issues
under control (no such guarantee with a kit).
The $99 kit still needs a second set of vaccinations and you pay for a
vet exam when you get these vaccinations, usually between $30-$40 about 6
weeks after you buy the kit, so the kit is really costing you around $130
to start off with (not including any minor health problems that often
affect new kits and will call for an additional vet trip; stress diarrhea,
ear mites, question of exposure to ECE or ADV, etc.). $75 for a shelter
ferret is pretty economical for the new owner when you consider what you
are getting: a thoroughly vet-checked ferret whose behavior is well-known
by the shelter operator and who has been watched for any signs of illness
(and likely ADV tested if the shelter tests), and who has been matched up
to you personality-wise. The $99 you spend at the pet store is just a
base price. A shelter director is usually available indefinitely to help
you with any problems you experience with your ferret, even if it happens
3 years after the adoption! A pet store doesn't want to hear back from
you at all, and probably can't help you if anything goes wrong.
A one-year health guarantee is a nice piece of paper, but it is meaningless
if you get attached to your ferret. A one-year health guarantee means
that if your ferret becomes ill or dies, they will replace it for free. A
health guarantee is not the same as a warranty; they will not pay for vet
bills you may rack up trying to save a sick ferret. If your ferret falls
ill at 6 months of age, are you going to be willing to "trade it in" for a
healthy one? Most commercial breeders and pet stores will not reimburse
you for vet costs, whereas a shelter has already had their ferrets
thoroughly vet-checked and if any surgeries or treatments need to be
given, they have already been done or been begun.
Shelters know their animals very well; pet stores are moving merchandise.
Even when a shelter knows that a person will give a ferret a very loving
home, they may balk at a person who says they can't pay a $75 adoption
fee, because shelters know how expensive a ferret can turn out to be. The
shelter mom or dad has to ask themselves, "If this person can't scrape up
$75 for the adoption fee, what will happen if the ferret is injured or
gets sick and needs an emergency treatment? Will it get the proper and
immediate care if this person doesn't have any money?" If a spouse is
between jobs, as in Cheryl's case, it is probably not the best time to
adopt a pet - of any kind - because pets can develop emergencies at any
time just like a person, and it's never cheap. Trust me - my "free"
ferret I got from someone who didn't want me has cost me well over $600
over the course of 2 years. A close friend got a "free" ferret and in
his first year she paid $1000 in various vet bills (and he has cost scads
more money since then!). My "free" stray cat needed a $190 liver surgery
and a $600 facial reconstruct less than 6 months after she showed up on
my doorstep. Free animals are not always a blessing for anyone who is
financially strapped!
Finally, shelters are rightfully wary of anyone looking for a free animal.
People who are "collectors" are always looking for free animals and
shelters are very gun-shy of people who want pets for free. Here in
Massachusets and throughout New England, our shelters have been the
recipients of ferrets from the NJ Christmas rescue. No shelter wants to
be the one who enables a collector and they are rightfully wary of people
looking for free pets. The person in Utah was a collector who took in any
"free" ferret she could get her hands on, and the result was that shelters
across the US are still scrambling to meet the awesome responsibility of
caring for those kids. By no means am I implying that Cheryl is a
"collector" - this issue just bears mentioning as one of the BIG reasons
shelters don't do freebies.
This is just FYI for anyone, not just Cheryl, in case anyone read the FML
yesterday and wondered WHY shelters would hesitate for a moment to place a
ferret in an obviously loving home. I just wanted to offer a few reasons
why shelters might have reservations about that sort of proposal. They do
want the best, loving homes for their ferrets. But they have other things
they must consider as well. I hope my post offers some insight on that.
There is also a fostering option. There are several shelters in
Massachusetts as well as NEFFER that offer the option of becoming a foster
home for a ferret. In a fostering situation, the ferret does not have
an adoption fee, and the ferret's vet bills continue to be paid by the
shelter or ferret group for as long as it's in the foster home (there is
both temporary and permanent fostering). If you'd like to know more about
the NEFFER foster program, please e-mail me and I'll chat with you some
more on this, Cheryl. I think that could be a good option for you if
you're interested. There are always foster ferrets in great need (NEFFER
has several and more calls coming in each week). You can also contact
NEFFER at 413-562-5014 to talk more with us about fostering ferrets and
volunteering to be a foster home for some needy fuzzies!
Sincerely,
Heather Wojtowicz
Permanently fostered by Dante, Nikita, Dusty, Beanie, Boomer, and Rocky
[Posted in FML issue 3692]
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