Good Heavens.... We've been taking ferrets to nursing homes, schools,
ANY public opportunity to help and educate the public since 1999.

Granted, the ONLY ferrets I take are "bomb-proof" and either personal
ferrets or permanent residents.- they are the ones who I can hand to
anyone. We've gearing up for our 8th ferret-legging at the Highland
Games this weekend-
http://www.richmondceltic.com/
We supply baggy sweat pants for the volunteers, which they absolutely
have to change into- Our RFRL members stand right in front of the
volunteers (It's amazing what folks want down their pants) and this
sport is timed- at 3 minutes, we swoop out the ferrets and smootch
them!

It's a wonderful opportunity for our shelter to raise donations ( we
also set up in the Young McDonald's Building), plus, between 200- 800
people who crowd around this sporting event see that ferrets are not
necessarily horrible. Sports Illustrated sent a writer 2 years ago to
take pictures and participate for a book which is coming out in 2010.
It's made the front page of our local paper (Richmond Times Dispatch),
and we pass out brochures, business cards, etc., so we have folks call
afterwards about adoption. Sure, ANYTHING can happen anytime we take
our guys out in public. I sweat bullets each & every time- not 'cause
of the people- because of the ferrets. To me, It's one of our jobs
as a shelter to educate, adopt- (which we NEVER, EVER do on-site
anywhere)... I think the ferrets also benefit because they get a day
out- kinda like an amusement park.

That's my 2 cents.

Marlene Blackburn
Director
RFRL
www.richmondferretrescueleague.org

[Posted in FML 6493]