It is with great regret that I announce that I will be leaving the shelter
business.  Laurie Long will continue to run the Raisin Retreat Ferret
Shelter and I will help out when I can.
 
I have been thinking about this for quite some time, but have always put
off a decision because I just wanted to keep helping ferrets a little
longer.
 
A variety of factors have contributed to my decision.  Some of them are: My
parents are getting older, and are not in the best of health, and I want
the flexibility to visit them (and other family) more often.  My own
allergies, including asthma, have worsened, and I have a rash on my hands
that I can't get rid of.  I don't know how much the ferrets are directly
contributing to the rash, but certainly all the cleaning and scrubbing have
taken their toll.  I've always preferred to be a small shelter, not taking
in so many that I can't give them all individual attention or have time to
give enough attention to my own ferrets.  But that has become increasingly
difficult to do.  Running a shelter is stressful and time consuming.  I
want time to do other things.
 
I've been doing shelter work for about 2 1/2 years now.  I will miss it
greatly.  Besides being stressful, it is also rewarding and joyful work.
 
I'm hoping that now I will have time to do some of the things I haven't had
the time for when running a shelter, like working with area pet shops to
try to get them to properly house and care for their ferrets, and to
distribute ferret care information and so on.
 
I want to thank everyone who has helped me over the last 2 1/2 years,
taught me about sheltering, caring for ferrets, helped me through the bad
times and rejoiced with me during the good times and the successes.  As I
said, I will always be available to help Laurie and other area shelters
whenever I can.
 
Linda Iroff
[Posted in FML issue 2589]