I SAID I would not get involved in the "shelter fee" debate.  I said it over
and over, but that never stopped me before, so. . . .
 
I did know of a shelter that did not charge any adoption fee.  They took in
ferrets and placed them in appropriate homes.  "Great" you say.  "Not so
great" says I, for you see this nearby shelter only accepted young, healthy
ferrets.  They could not afford to pay vet bills, so the sick, the injured,
the old were turned away.
 
Where did these sick, injured, old ferrets turn up?  Of course, in our
shelter where they were cared for, received the treatment they needed, and
"fostered" at no charge to loving homes.
 
Now we don't begrudge the necessary treatments, else we wouldn't be
operating a ferret shelter.  We get real pleasure at nursing a sick or
injured ferret back to health and seeing it go to a good home - maybe the
first time in their lives.  But how long could we afford to remain open if
all we received were the infirm, to be adopted out at no fee?  If we were
forced to close, who then would take care of them?
 
Shelters recover a portion of their expenses by the adoption fees from the
young healthly ferrets.  That "income" is vital if we are to afford to treat
the others.
 
We just finished totalling up our vet bills for 1996.  $10,700.  While I am
fortunate enough to have a fairly good job, we certainly couldn't afford to
continue to operate a shelter with only outgo like that and nothing to
offset it.
 
We were fortunate to survive the other "shelter"s" well intentioned
operation.  They are no longer in "business" as it were.  Think, though.  If
they were only able to accept young, healthy ferrets so that they could
adopt them out without adoption fees, what would happen to the "other"
ferrets?
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 1812]