Allow me to relate a conversation I had with Rhys on Friday. We were
outside at a local grocery store, sitting at our fundraising table.
Rhys (and Winter) were being perfect boys, just laying in my lap --
Rhys with his antlers and Winter in his Santa hat. The boys would only
try to get off my lap in case of toilet needs. Rhys indicated that
need was imminent, so I put him in his carrier. I was distracted for
a moment, but still registered the sound that told of poop expulsion.
Here's my "conversation" with Rhys.
While kneeling in front of the open carrier, I called to Rhys to come
out.
Rhys replied in the negative.
I called again.
Rhys: "no, Mom."
I called a third time, reaching into the small carrier, in which Rhys
was huddled in the back.
Rhys: "Mom, you are totally missing the problem here. I'm not coming
out, until you fix it. I'm not stepping in THAT."
And, so I was. I'm blind, so I missed that Rhys had eliminated in the
front of the carrier. As soon as I put another piece of paper down over
his toilet, Rhys eagerly bounced out of the carrier, ready for more
cuddling on my lap and being adored by passers-bye.
Rhys' "conversation", which it took me some time to translate,
explained another oddity of the day. When I put him in his carrier to
potty and left him for longer than a minute or two earlier in the day,
Rhys would push all his paper into the front of the carrier. I believe
he was trying to cover his own waste, since I didn't do it fast enough
for him. I usually put fresh paper in after a potty action occurs, but
I lay it in, not feeling around to determine the what and where of the
toilet. Well, I've caught on to my job now.
Many rescues seem to depend on online fundraisers to supplement
donations from patrons. Ferrets at Heart doesn't have a base of foster
families and other patrons on which to draw and is not widely known
enough to have a successful online raffle or other online fundraiser.
We have decided to try to raise needed funds locally. We are selling
Christmas-themed stuffed animals and pet supplies outside a grocery
store two miles up the road in our small town of Huron, Ohio. Friends
were afraid we wouldn't bring in much sales and told us not to expect
donations to amount to much. I was glad to find out the nay-Sayers were
absolutely wrong. For a small town, it seems like half of everyone has
had a ferret or knows someone who does. We were there on Wed. and Fri.
of this week, for a total of nearly 12 1/2 hrs. (not including set-up
time), we have brought in $57 in sales and $93.14 in donations (plus a
blanket for the ferret room). For larger shelters, this would only be a
drop in the bucket of what they need to operate, but Ferrets at Heart
is thrilled to have this amount of assistance to put towards the care
of our weasel hoard. We may have even found some candidates to adopt
Templeton.
Now, we were also advised not to tell how much we make in our
fundraising efforts. The common thought seems to be that, the more you
say you bring in, the less people want to donate. I'm sure all of you
understand that around $150 isn't enough to cover vet care for eight
ferrets. Also, take into account that we have our cost for the items we
sell to cover and cost for our stand (Christmas garland, poster, tape,
flyers, etc.). It isn't like we just won the lottery, even if it feels
like it. Our first effort at bringing in financial support (other
than our online ferret bedding store at ferretsatheart.com and
Ferrets-at-Heart on eBay) is a success (so far). We will do everything
possible to help our fuzzy babies. I just wish this hadn't been the
last warmish week for some months; having the furkids available for
people to see is a big draw. If anyone has any suggestions as to how
to bring them along in cold weather (Would those little warming packs
people use for their hands work?), please email me, but I don't want
to put the ferrets at risk.
With respect,
Lori of Ferrets at Heart
http://ferretsatheart.com/
...and Rhys, Ayla, Codo, Mandie, Winter, Holly, Charlie, and Templeton
-- All on the Ferret Giving Tree at www.ferretgivingtree.com/
See our eBay auctions for hammocks, beds, sleep sacks, tunnels, "super"
sleep sacks, toys, and more at
http://shop.ebay.com/ferrets-at-heart/m.html
[Posted in FML 6881]
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