Hey folks!
My name is Mary McCarty (not to be confused with Mary McCarthy - who
pronounces it McCarty - who also does shelter work, but in NY, I
believe <g>). I am the shelter director for the Pennsylvania Ferret
Rescue Association of Centre County. We reside in State College, PA
(Penn State) and anyone looking to join a club - please contact me.
I was first introduced to ferrets when my college roommate was given one
the summer of 1992 - boy, did we do EVERYTHING wrong (big surprise,
right?). But I was hooked and knew that one day I'd have one of my own
(you see how naive I was when I thought I would only have one <g>)
It wasn't until April of 1994 that I did get one of my own - my boyfriend
(now husband) bought Fatso for me, a beautiful PV champagne boy who was
weight challenged. But ferret math quickly found us so that 6 weeks later,
Skinny, a little chocolate roan MF boy joined the family.
Surprisingly, we stayed at only two ferrets for about three years....then
someone at work mentioned they had a friend who needed to find a new home
for his two ferrets (yes, all ferret people end up rescuing at least once
in their life!), so Bear and Maggie came to stay. Not long after that, I
found another little one in a petstore and brought home Sweet Pea (boy,
talk about not living up to that name....she's also known as 666, demon
child, brat girl - you name it, she's evil and I love her to death <g>).
But I was firm about stopping there. Then I found out we had a local
shelter which was just across town from me. Sigh.
I just have to say one thing - Kym Barone is evil personified. I don't
know how it happened, but one day she asked me to pick up a ferret and next
thing you know, I'm running a shelter! How the hell did that happen? I'm
still asking myself this almost 3 years later <g>
Actually, Kym was moving to Gilbertsville and had someone lined up to take
over the State College branch of the shelter. That person flaked out and
she was in a bind, so "just hold on to these ferrets until I can come get
them". Well, we had already found homes for those two, we were moving into
our house (which had a nice big ferret room!), so it just kind of fell into
place.
Now I have 9 little babies (Fatso passed on unexpectedly this past
September), 2 small horses...I mean, dogs, and 26 rescue ferrets (and a
very understanding, ferret-loving husband!)
I believe I found the FML through some random web surfing in 1996.....you
guys have been awesome!
SHAMELESS PLUG: It seems that just about every shelter director I know is
overcrowded for their facility - please make your next addition a shelter
ferret. We have many - as young as 16 weeks to as old as 7+ - and they all
would love to have a home to call their own. Remember your local shelter
this holiday season - the directors, but most importantly the ferrets, will
greatly appreciate it!
Mary
Mary McCarty-Houser, Director
Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association of Centre County
http://www.ferretrescue.com
[Posted in FML issue 2901]
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