First of all, I wish to thank everyone who has participated in any way
with The Giving Tree - whether you set up the website, helped people
with their posts or became Santas to any of the MANY shelter ferrets
on the tree. Special thanks too to the people who continue to push for
Santas for ferrets how have not yet been selected! This is such an
enjoyment and blessing at the end of what has been a difficult year
for most shelters while surrenders are up and adoptions & donations
are down due to "the economy".

Our shelter recently received a wonderful package from Foster & Smith
which contained a bag of Superior Choice Food and SIX packages of
N-Bone Chicken Chew Sticks. I would love to acknowledge the gift
directly to the Santa who ordered the gift, but the enclosed paperwork
made it appear that it was ordered by and shipped to The Ferret Haven.
I have no way of knowing who the sender was or which ferret(s) it was
meant for. I've addressed this with Foster & Smith as to the need to be
able to put a notation on orders - but I wonder if it might be possible
to add a page to the Giving Tree (or elsewhere) that might allow
recipients to post gift acknowledgements and Thank You's for this kind
of situations?

Someone sent me an e-mail today giving me a heads up that a package
was coming (form Foster & Smith again). As I was telling her --
there's nothing that kills the spirit of giving like failure to
even acknowledge of a gift of any type or size. Our Santa gifts are
acknowledged by a ferret - we try to make them cute and personal - we
recently received a F&S Gift Certificate and the senders ferrets told
the shelter ferrets to really put their paw down and make me let them
order what THEY want.....not just stuff they need. So Our Dumbledore
ferret, who is in charge of "shipping and weceiving" responded to the
sender wiht a transcript of their shopping adventure:

Hmmm, wets see.......dook, dook, dook......ya, we weally puts our paws
down wiff mom, didn't we?!

oooh, wook at dis Annie,

100,000,000 N-Bone Chickey Chew Tweats (yuz can neber habs too many of
dese!!)

5 Tunnels
one hundred-seventy-eleven Octoplays
thirty dig boxes

OK, OK....I guess is IS your pwesent.........ONE pink elephant (sigh)

790,500 pounds of Turkey/Wamb and Bambi (I know it's a wittle
conservtive, but I wanted to save some for da udder fewwets who might
be ordering)

You wants da dwess too? Sigh.......Pink I suppose??

ooh-ooh.......wets get da Gator.......ya, 30 of dem, one for ebery
cage!! No weally, I tink da girls will wike dem better dan da pink
elephant (paws crossed behind his back)

OK, dat should do it for our 1st shipment......lets click da Buy Now
Button.......

HUH??? $10,472.93??? You gots to be kidding?! ...............

THUMP.......

Dumble........Dumble, you O-tay??

Get some water........

SPLASH........."What da???"

Well, I didn't know, dey do it on da TV awe da time and it works...
sorry Dumble

Um, Dumble, maybe you should just let me pick out some tings for awe of
us? You berry handsome Dumble......but I tinks maybe I gots a better
sense of numbers dan you doos.

Dumble just can't bewieve his wet little ears as he walks away,
mumbling......"no pweciation.......nots knows what WE want.......
awe about her and da giwls.........pink dis, pink dat.........." and
he slithers into the warmth of his dry hammock.

We just like to make it fun.

As a shelter mom, it's SO important that I continually thank my
volunteers for the hours that they dedicate to the fuzzies and the
shelter - that I let them know that their ideas are welcome and often
implemented because this shelter is partially theirs as long as they
put time in here as it could not run without volunteers. The same holds
true for gifts of any kind - whether it's food, bedding, money or
someone's used ferret items donated after the loss of their prescious
ferret - it's critical to say "Thank You" for every gesture!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!! And please, select a Giving Tree Ferret if
you're able!!

Jerri Carel
The Ferret Haven
Louisville, KY
[log in to unmask]
www.theferrethaven.org

[Posted in FML 6544]