I agree it is only polite to show gratitude when someone has been good
to you--but we are often guilty of LATE thank yous. The sanctuary and
its charges are my main focus.

I am mommy to 121 sweet little souls who were abandoned, abused,
neglected, sick, or had to be surrendered by their owner(s) due to lost
jobs, apartments, or homes. Some ferrets came because mom & dad were
getting a divorce, moving, and the helpless little creatures wouldn`t
be allowed in the new place :( It seems like kids & pets are so often
the ones who suffer the most because mom & dad couldn`t make it work.
We deal with lots of emotional baggage--and that takes time.

25 of ours need meds twice daily for life--and that takes time. Trips
to the vet take time too.

Cleaning up after our 121 (and all of the ones we are ferret-sitting
while mom & dad get back on their feet) takes a LOT of time!

Answering phone calls for help & advice takes time. There are also
emails to answer. There are ferrets brought to our door at 10 p.m.
sometimes :(

We did our largest rescue ever, this year. A couple with 29 ferrets
split up. Neither could afford the ferrets, many of which were ill.
We lost five of them shortly after they came to us :( The physical,
emotional, and financial drain on our sanctuary has been huge.

We almost put some of ours on the tree this year--but I didn`t have the
time to take cute little pictures & write up little stories. (Heck, our
website has sat, not updated, for nearly a year--because THAT takes
time too!)

Two days ago, we took in a savage little biter from Wisconsin. We were
her last chance. (THIS will take some time!!! LOL) Thank you, Diane
Iverson for rescuing her, and taking the six hour round trip drive to
transport Sara.

Being busy is no excuse for not saying "Thank you"--but the thanks may
be late. We (speaking for all of the shelters here) are trying to do
our best for the ferrets we have made promises to. And we do it every
day--not just at Christmas...(BTW--they don`t stop eating, drinking &
pooing just because it`s a holiday LOL.)

Thanks with all of my heart, to those who have helped us in any way at
all, this whole year long. I truly hope I didn`t forget anyone, because
we are honestly grateful. I also want to tell you how grateful we are
for our volunteers, for without them, we really couldn`t do this.

I`m sorry I didn`t send out any Christmas cards this year.

God bless all of you who understand--and also those of you who don`t...

Love, Zoo

[Posted in FML 7281]