As you can see from my post about Chere, I cannot seem to forget the idea
of finding a way to help the shelters and the needy ferts.  A few of us
are in conversation looking for ideas, and we'll let you know if we come
up with some workable suggestions to bounce off the good minds out there.
 
In the meantime, I'll get on my fund-raising soap box and urge you all to
consider the implications of the news you read from the shelter owners.
Only Kelleen is really up front about her expenses, but I am learning that
many or all of the shelters are run more on love and sacrifice than anything
else (except prayer).  These people are doing the work they have chosen to
do, yes, but in a way they are doing it for all of us who love ferrets.  We
were all rooting for tle as she battled to save her shelter full of fuzzies
with ECE, but I've heard that she still has bills to pay from that.  Trish
Curtis keeps taking in ferrets with medical problems larger than any
adoption fee can cover and her expenses are much higher than expected, but
her only regret is that she cannot afford to take in more.  Lea Statler is
trying to get a new shelter off the ground.  I haven't been on the FML long
enough to know who all the shelter owners are, and many are probably out
there silently.
 
The statistics from the March 96 newsletter from the Ferret Wise shelter
(used without your permission, Alicia, because I lost your e-mail address.
Sorry!) give you a good idea: an average of $250 is spent on each ferret
that comes in for health exams, vaccinations, ear mite treatments, etc.  The
average stay is 30-60 days (on top of the health care).  The average
adoption donation is $80.  That's a $170 deficit per ferret.  I doubt the
numbers look much better at any shelter.
 
The people who run these shelters cannot hold high-powered jobs and care for
the fuzzies too.  Any time they spend fund raising is also time away from
their little charges.  I know there are some people in the world who are
offended by any request for money, no matter what the cause, as if someone
were trying to rip them off in some way.  I hope most of us have learned the
joy of giving to the things that matter to us.
 
Please consider adopting a shelter.  Or sponsoring a ferret.  Just e-mail
some of these wonderful people and ask what you can do.  And please look for
whatever idea(s) our little think tank may come up with for discussion with
the mailing list.
[Posted in FML issue 1586]