It is really unfortunatate that so many folks and their families have to suffer due to a few jerks. How could we have known?? I always try to see the silver lining to every dark cloud and it helps make my days a little brighter. We are all aware that thousands are now jobless and have no income. At the shelter, I have created many ways for my help to generate income while still getting volunteer time and helping the folks who need it make a few bucks. It certainly doesn't pay the bills, but like every small donation, it helps and I'm grateful. As a large shelter, we get given a lot of ferret stuff when folks surrender their ferrets. I'm talking cages, hammies, noveltycloth things, carriers, ferretone, shampoo, etc. If you are a shelter and need help, try this... have a volunteer go clean up a few nice cages real good and set them up with a hammy, some toys, ferretone, bag of TF, etc, ...take out the cost, add some profit, split the profit with the worker!! Sometimes it 50 bucks!! to the shelter and 50 bucks to the worker. And then have them clean a few cages while they are there. I also give my crew 10% of any adoption they do. Some of you will say, that money should go to the ferrets. Yeah, well maybe so... but when you go through the volumne of ferrets we do, sometimes yo have to settle for whatever help you can do and will do anything short of illegal to get it. I let them all know, they can only earn $600 before I have to start withdrawing taxes and all the other junk the gov't requires. I try to keep it below that. We try to keep in stock a lot of stuff to sell to help support the shelter. You shelters will find that you have more help this way and also, to you unemployed, now you don't have an excuse for not volunteering at your local shelter and remember, those who do good deeds will prevail. You reap the seeds you sow Stay legal and love them fuzzies, Ferretguy [Posted in FML issue 3558]