Good Morning,

Wow! What a response I have received about the Stephens' ferrets!
Rather than answer individually all of the emails, perhaps I can
better answer the questions here.

I waited until Tuesday to post the letter because I wanted to make sure
that this was "for real" and I needed a few days to do this. I work
for a law firm and have at my disposal means that most other people do
not have access to. Court records, DMV records, and other information
gathering mechanisms. It did not take me very long to discover that
there is a Marc Stephens with a valid AR driver's license and the
Little Rock address on that license. I contacted a title company we use
in Little Rock and the address listed on the DMV records was foreclosed
on in early July of 2009.

I sent a letter to that address but do not hold out much hope in the
letter reaching the Stephens' but there is a slim chance of either
getting a forwarding address or having the letter forwarded by the
post office. Sometimes this works, sometimes it does not.

I copied the letter to my pastor and he has offered to make some calls
in Little Rock as well as this family probably has ties to a local
church.

I have contacted reporters in this area and in Little Rock to see if
they might want the story. I have had some luck in persuading a few
reporters to look at the letter and take the possible story to their
editors. This is the type of story news media loves this time of year.
Perhaps they can find them or at least get the story out there and
someone who knows them will contact us.

Mr. Stephens may not want to be found and I am prepared for that. But I
am hoping to find the Stephens family to offer whatever help that I can
to allow them to keep their ferrets. I already support several ferret
homes with food and treats and what-not, I can help them as well. What
I cannot do is persuade leasing agents to rent to people with ferrets -
at least I have not been successful in that regard yet. Several ferrets
have been surrendered to the shelter just this year alone because
people lost their homes and had to move into apartments and the leasing
agents have refused to allow ferrets in their rental units.

Their ferrets have been examined and two elderly girls have received
melantonin implants and all of the ferrets are on albon for minor
issues. We are feeding them a bland diet of A/D, water, and Dook Soup
and their diarrhea is beginning to clear up. We hope to have them on
a steady diet of Totally Ferret within a few days. We are waiting to
vaccinate them until they are much more stable.

Lastly, why did I title the story the Thanksgiving Blessing? I have
lost almost all of my own pet ferrets during the past 16 months and I
began to wonder if the sacrifice of not spending more quality time with
my own ferrets was worth the price of saving other ferrets in shelter.
Loosing Cole was very difficult for me and as Dagmar began to fade away
on Wednesday, I really began to doubt that what we shelter moms and
dads do and the sacrifices of our human and ferret families so that we
can keep our shelter doors open and provide that "lifeline" to so many
ferrets. Was it worth it? And when Dagmar passed it angered me, just
a little, that I did not get to spend as much time with all of these
ferrets of mine because of the increased burden of the shelter. I began
to hate myself for what I had done to my own pet ferrets. And now they
have gone. And I cannot get them back.

Then the Stephens' letter appeared. At first, I thought, oh great! Now
I will be late for my Thanksgiving dinner at my best friend's house....
And as I began bathing them and preparing their cage and food, I
thought about the letter and the words contained in that letter. Then
it dawned on me that this was really an answer to my doubts about the
shelter and the sacrifices my human and ferret family has had to make
all of these years. Just when I was at my lowest and even considered
closing my doors, just for a moment anyway, the blessing arrived!

So you see, the Stephens' really saved me......and the shelter.

Maren Doshier
Raisins From Heaven Ferret Rescue & Sanctuary
Hernando, MS

[Posted in FML 6535]