Hello Everyone..
 
After reading tle's post about the ferrets in the aquarium and finding the
wretched owner had taken one away and dumped the other baby in a trash can,
and her taking it home for a decent burial, I felt, perhaps, it is time to
talk about the 'other side' of this rescue and shelter 'thing' we do.  The
dark side, so to speak.
 
Everyone of us who work with 'people and their ferrets' situations will run
into the bad, sometimes far more often than the good.  Its the 'got there in
time', 'got this one to a vet before --', paid for this one because it was
the only way', 'took these even tho there just wasn't enough --', and
'arrived in time to --' WINS that get us through all the nights like the one
tle spoke of.
 
It's the months and years sometimes of fighting an insidious disease like
ECE and not losing one little one like Trish has done: Or dealing with
overwhelming bills and the incredible numbers tle copes with: this is what
makes the Hero's here.  There are others I am sure, each of us must have a
favourite..  and they too are the Hero's..  Every shelter person has been
thru the times when it was just too late, or the disease had just gone on
too long with no treatment, or the injury was just to vast, or the neglect
and/or abuse had done far too much damage to repair, and we have buried fur
children in our own personal graveyards and been the only ones who cried or
cared.
 
And we get angry..  Oh Boy!  do we get angry... when we get a little one in
and the reason for giving it away is that it's not convenient just now, or
interferes with vacation plans, or isn't worth the vet bills, or any one of
dozens of other rotten excuses we hear so very often.  So we take the baby,
and keep quiet, and get on with the soothing and caring and loving and,
hopefully finding a loving home.  Yes, you bet we are picky, you bet we are
strict, you bet we are possessive or these fur kids.  With what we see and
never talk about, we become hyper sensitive about our responsibilities
toward our charges.  And I Would Not Change A Line!!!
 
Please join me in a SALUTE to all those shelter Moms out there that are such
an inspiration to small fry like me..  they are the real HEROS here!
 
They are the ones who do the really tough stuff day in and day out... and
deserve all the support we can give them..  as often as we can manage...
 
thank you for allowing me to share this with you..
 
dayna and the Woozles
 
 "Resident of... Marvelous Menagerie Of Mirthful Mayhem"
 dayna frazier  102046,3162  24-Aug-1996  12:31:02 PST
[Posted in FML issue 1671]