Hi Ferreteers!
 
(Back to Kodo days for some of us!)
Tomorrow morning I take off for Arcadia,Fl, to participate in the rescue of
54 ferrets from a breeder who no longer feels he can handle his animals.
Neither I nor the other 5-6 people involved in this rescue really know what
to expect when we drive onto Wood Rd tomorrow at noon.  I'm fairly sure I'll
be bringing nine already neutered and vaccinated ferts home with me to
foster for adoption, and that the others will be trucked to Dr Kemmerer's
loving hands for surgeries and exams.  Beyond that, what we face is anyone's
guess, since none of us has been to the gentleman's farm yet.
 
This reminds me of just about a year ago, on my way to Jax to meet Miss
Heidi von Fredonia, the albino ferret rescue from the Kansas rescue mission
- the excitement, the hope of doing some good for an as yet unmet ferret,
the concern that you're not too late - all of it, multiplied.
 
Heidi has turned out to be a gentle, loving, opinionated baby girl.  A year
later, her coat is so thick and shiny she glows in the dark.  She's smaller
than my other 7 babies, but I don't think she's noticed yet.  She dooks and
dances so whole-heartedly she regularly throws herself off the bed, much to
her chagrin (and my amusement!).  She'll never be a lap-fert, but she loves
to be awakened with tummy skritches and chases Ferretvite with fierce
concentration.  When she eats, she 'talks' to herself.  I swear she's saying
'yummy stuff, mummy, yummy stuff mummy,more yummy stuff'.  She's the only
one of my brood to 'talk' like that.
 
When she came to me, covered with fleas and terrified from the trip to Fla
from Kansas, she ran and hid as soon as allowed out of her cage - thus her
name.  She was a fear biter, cured with cuddles and Ferretvite upon slowly
being awakened.  The same little girl who attacked her fellow ferrets now
sleeps with her paws wrapped around her pet of the day, usually Conan who
outweighs her by 3x.
 
The point of this, ferreteers, is that one of the most rewarding and joyful
members of my family is here because I reached out to a rescue ferret who
needed me.  With the Arcadian ferrets, you can have that, too.
 
We don't know what we're walking into tomorrow.  It may be a business of
healthy if neglected ferrets, it may involve illness we just don't know.  We
need your thoughts, prayers, good wishes and dollars to make this rescue
work.  If you're interested in adopting, contact me at [log in to unmask]  If
you want to donate, the addresses are below, as well as numbers for more
information.  If you want to send goodwill our way, believe me when I say we
need it & appreciate it.  Many thanks to those who have already written.  I
will be posting tomorrow with a report on actual conditions, and we are
making arrangements for photos, as soon as possible.
 
Hugs to you & your ferrets,
 
Paula Bryder
 
Donations:
Barbara Ludt
PO Box 984
Penny Farms, Fl 32079-0984
904-284-9232, fax 904-284-6998
 
to donate straight to Dr Kemmerer:
West End Animal Hospital
103 SW 140th Terrace
Newberry, Fl 32669
("FOR THE ARCADIA FERRETS", non tax deductible)
[Posted in FML issue 2157]