Hello, I usually just skim the fml, as I don't always have time to read it, but I have been noticing the thread about the giving tree. While I think this is a great idea, and it will help to make Christmas a lot merrier for many ferrets, there is something even better you can do to make a ferret's Christmas merry. Most shelters have what they consider "unadoptable" ferrets, due to things such as age, health, temperament, and such. In my 3 1/2 years of running the Legion of Superferrets of Nebraska Ferret Shelter, I learned that even the most unadoptable ferret can be adopted by the right owner. While ferret shelters are a great place for ferrets to find refuge in place of many worse places they can be, a ferret shelter is no place for a ferret to spend its life at. Ferret shelter operators make great sacrifices to take care of shelter ferrets, but they can only spread themselves so far between so many ferrets. My challenge is this. This Christmas, make room in your heart and your home for an "unadoptable" ferret. Go to your local ferret shelter, and ask to see the ferrets that have been there over a year, the ferrets that need constant medical treatment for the rest of their life, the ferrets that have an "attitude" problem, that need a patient, loving owner to teach them, the ferrets that are over 6 or 7 years old, that will have a hard time finding a home. Ferret shelters are wonderful, but they are nowhere near what a home can be. Many ferret shelters will even reduce or waive an adoption fee for "unadoptable" ferrets to help them better find a home, although keep in mind, the shelter can definitely use the money. Now I'm not saying this would be easy, taking care of a sick ferret can be time consuming, a ferret that bites is probably better in a home without children, an older ferret may only have a short time left to live, and it is never easy to lose a ferret, but the whole spirit of Christmas is giving. Make a small sacrifice to let these unadoptable ferrets know what it is like to be in a home again, loved by their owners, without having to compete with 30 or 50 other ferrets for attention. Think of your own ferrets. If something should ever happen to you, and you couldn't take care of them anymore, would you want them to spend the rest of their lives in a ferret shelter? Maybe you have a sick ferret, or a biter, or an old timer. Does that mean you love them any less? If you want to really give the best Christmas present ever to a shelter ferret, give them what they want more than anything; a warm, loving home. Shelley Knudsen Class of 2004 KSU Veterinary College [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] http://www.tcgcs.com/~ferrets 402-463-0190 785-485-2443 [Posted in FML issue 3262]