Dear FMLers,
 
It is with some shame, and much resignation that I have come to the point
where I must post this.  I am a full-time college student-single parent-
with a full-time job-earning less than $10,000.00/year.  I am on the brink
of a career change, and my new career will take up considerably more time
than my current vocation.
 
I can no longer afford the time or money to keep my ferrets.  I agree in
principle; when a person gets a pet, it should be a life-of-the-pet
commitment.  Now I am seeing the other side of that issue.  To make matters
worse I will be moving to a place where the association rules prohibit
ferrets.  It is not an option to move elsewhere.  My time, and my finances
are limited.  I keep my ferrets and their cages clean, I feed them right,
keep them current on their vaccinations, and buy medications, even if it
takes food from our mouths, all my ferrets get a good long run every day,
and lots of love and affection.  I know in my heart that I have done my
best.
 
My first ferret came to me as a gift, from my brother.  That phenomena that
is so flippantly reffered to as "ferret-math" led to my eventually ending
up with seven ferrets.  From my current vantage point ferret-math is
neither cute, nor wise.  It seems to be a blight on the ferret-friendly.  I
ended up with seven ferrets by way of four purchases, two long-term foster
ferrets, and one shelter adoption.  I recently gave one of the four
purchased ferrets to the shelter, to go into foster care, for treatment of
chronic diarreah.  I purchased that particular ferret from a breeder, and
for reasons that I can only speculate upon that ferret had chronic health
problems, from the beginning.
 
In my search for solutions to my present situation I talked to my
friend/shelter operator because I was unable to get the chronically sick,
breeder-purchased ferret, to a vetrinarian as soon as I "should" have.  It
was a problem of time and money.  I was came to feel as if I had somehow
failed.  As far as the other ferrets go, my current plan is to send the two
foster ferrets, and the one I adopted back to the shelter, even though that
is a sad end for these three.  That is what it will come to unless I can
find a good home for them.
 
Here is where the post gets even more difficult.  In my opinion the
shelter, and the shelter operator are being ruined by the amount of
resources expended treating sick ferrets.  In the time I have had contact
with the shelter it has always been overcrowded, the ferrets get minimal
run time, and cages are barely kept clean enough.  Exhorbitant amounts of
time and money are spent on the sick.  That is the most generous thing I
can say about my experiences with the ferret shelter.  The shelter operator
is a veritable "mother theresa" of ferrets.  There is zero malice in my
observations.
 
I have watched the shelter struggle, and receive little or no support from
the ferret club members, or anyone else, with the exception of a very few
dedicated people.  I have written the FML, the club members, and done
everything I could to try to help out.  Nothing ever seems to get better,
only worse.  It has occurred to me that it is a losing battle, since the
shelter recently closed its' doors to any new rescues.  I have come to the
conclusion that the shelter should be euthanizing the terminal, and working
harder on adoptions.  This is not my first choice for shelter operations,
just a sad, but pragmatic approach to overcrowding.  It is not my place to
tell anyone how to run their shelter, that is up to the person who is
spending the money, and doing the work.  I am overwhelmed by my personal
responsibilities, and do not feel that my efforts have done anything
long-term to further the quality of life for ferrets in general.
 
Two of the ferrets in my care have terminal illnesses.  One is adrenal, the
other has insulonoma.  My gut reaction to my current situation would be to
have the terminal ferrets euthanized, and to find homes for the others.
HOMES...the shelter does not qualify as a home, in my opinion.  The shelter
operator wants me to return the foster ferrets, and the adoptee to the
shelter.  The ferrets at the shelter look sad, and it seems to me that they
spend too much time caged.  The conditions there are not what I'd hope for
a companion animal, that I care about.
 
I do not wish to suffer more personal critcism.  I realize that this post
may bring on just that.  I've been told by the shelter operator that I lack
courage in dealing with the sick, for my opinions on euthanization, and it
seems implied that I am somehow *bad* for getting into this position.  I
need to find real homes for these six ferrets, and I hope that someone will
actually reply to this post with some compassion.  I live in Minnesota, and
ideal homes would be in this area.  My faith in the ferret-people community
has been shaken by my experiences.  I rarely read the FML anymore, partly
due to time constraints, and partly because I am so disillusioned.  If you
care, write to me personally, if you wish to flame, flame away.  Flames,
and this post amount to words, just words.
[Posted in FML issue 2769]