This is a letter I wrote to someone who thanked me for sending them a
thank you for a donation they made to us.  I thought it would be nice to
share with all of those who continually suport a shelter of their choice.
Hope it is not to long and boring.  JD
 
I would love to give everyone that helps us the way you have a personal
award and a great big hug from each and every ferret that has passed
through here.  Some people say that it is wonderful that I can operate a
shelter and help these little kids.  If not for peole that help to support
us I would never be able to do it alone.  Granted I don't get as much
support as the larger shelters but then I don't have the need some of the
larger shelters do.  It would be great to have a hundred volunteers, along
with all the donations and support that it would bring.  But then look at
the size of shelter it would be, the complex problems it would have.  I
would rather just be what I am, a small personal place where I know each
and every one of the kids that come through, getting to know and love
them, to find that perfect spot that they can fill in someones heart.
Knowing that I will never again have to worry about them beiong loved and
cared for the way they are supposed to be.  How can anyone in a large
shelter get or give that kind of care.  Sometimes it is a real struggle to
make ends meet, to get the food, the treats, but worst of all is the vet
bills.  Somehow just when it looks like it is all over, a small check, a
package something shows up that just does get us over the rough spot and
ready for the next one.  I swear that these things are little miracles and
I truly believe that they are helped along by the little ones who have
never found the home they were looking for or who came in here never to
leave until they went to the Bridge.  I believe that they are watching
out for us and doing whatever they can from above to keep us open and
operating for "just one more day", for "just one more ferret".  I cannot
count the number of times I have sit and cried my eyes out worring about
how I was going to give them what they need and how I was going to be able
to keep going.  I still wonder just where the strength comes from that
keeps moving me in the right direction.  If not from them then where??
There have been many times when I have just wanted to throw my hands up
and quit.  then this little face shows up at my door, the phone rings, I
get an e-mail.  How can I say NO?  How could I turn my back away from
these ferrets Gods truest and most wonderful creation?  It is with the
help of angels like you that allow me to have just enough to get through
and keep going so I can be there for the next one.  Kids like RC, Gambit,
Peanut take so much to get over but then you get that little kiss, see the
light in the eyes of a new owner and a ferret that has found that "one
person" it is times like these that take away the pain, the hurt and the
dissapointment of past losses and failures.  That make it worth going
through all the heartache.  Some think they don't have anything to give,
no way to help these lost and forgetten, dumped and negelected kids.  They
are wrong, each little prayer, each and every dollar, each and every
little blanket, hammey, box of treats or raisins.  Every single baby
blanket or little stuffed toy, each and every item on this list and many
others not mentioned is worth more than gold to a shelter operator.  To
receive little things like this mean many things to a shelter operator,
First it lets them know that there are those that appreciate just what
they are doing, what they putting themselves through and the sacrafices
they make each and every day.  Second it lightens the load, lifts the
burden ever so slightly as to make it possible to carry it one more day.
I have seen the time that a check for four dollars has brought tears
because it was just what I needed to finish paying for a bottle of
medicine, one more distemper shot, or maybe the shot that will send the
little one to rest because its time and has come and the battle is over.
It is so wonderful that the ferret community can unite and come together
during a crisis like the Utah rescue and so many others before.  It is
however the steady constant support from regualr everyday ferret lovers
that make an extra hammy, send an extra couple of dollars, a box of
treats, a bag of food to the shelter of their choice throughout the year
that keep many of these shelters going and provideing the strength and
encouragement to the operators to go on for one more day.  That to me is
a true angel.  So if any of you have any doubts as to just how much your
donations are needed and appreciated no matter how small you think they
are, believe it when I say that to the shelter operator they are a true
gift from an angel of God.
 
JD/Widget's Halfway House
www.furrylogic.org/widgets=20
[Posted in FML issue 3598]