>One leader told me that there are more than 100 ferrets in a shelter in
>Oregon!!  :( I do not want to be part of creating any problems for
>ferrets...  If there are so many ferrets needing homes, perhaps my energy
>would be better spent fostering ferrets...
 
Lynn,
 
I volunteer at the Oregon Ferret Association shelter every Saturday and I
can confirm the HUGE number of ferrets the shelter supports (it fluctuates
close to 100).  I LOVE working there and look forward to it every week, but
it is hard not to cry when you see all the BEAUTIFUL ferrets without loving
homes.  We have adopted as many of them (7, plus 3 from pet stores) as we
feel we can give quality care and attention to (we have two sets because we
have not been able to introduce more to our oringinal cage and this takes a
lot of extra time), but we constantly fall in love with new ones coming in
and "long-time" residents we wish we could take home.
 
In addition to all the ferrets that would make great pets, just waiting
for someone to pick them, there are all the hard luck cases (see the
adoption focus section at the OFA web page at
http://www.teleport.com/~leonard/ofa/ofa.html) of abused, sick, and
"special" ferrets that will probably never find homes, especially with all
the healthy well-adjusted ones to choose from.  I know how appealing raising
ferrets seems, they are just so darn fun ,and I was thinking about doing it
also, but I quickly changed my mind after finding out about our shelter.
PLEASE look into fostering rather than breeding!  You sound like a wonderful
ferret parent and I'm sure you would find it very rewarding to be
responsible for more events like your moving story about Perchy and
Schroeder Boat, believe me, there are many, many more cases of similar need.
 
Thank-you for considering this situation so seriously and asking for
opinions and input from others before you you jump into it.  Feel free to
contact us regarding fostering opportunites if you are interested.
 
Elayne
[Posted in FML issue 1421]