Shelter operators tend to be very protective of their special needs ferrets. Many times these ferrets have been neglected or abused, requiring extra time and care to rehabilitate. Elderly ferrets require extra time and care to maintain quality life. All that extra time and care creates a "this is the best place for this ferret" mindset that is extremely difficult for a shelter operator to overcome. A vet would probably have to beg and plead to adopt one of these critters, and even then the shelter operator would be on pins and needles worrying. Of course, environmental change stress (shelter shock) is often fatal in elderly ferrets. It takes weeks (preferably months) of preparation to move them to a new home safely. In the case of ferrets with histories of biting, many shelters are reluctant to release them for adoption because an initial "It's ok if he bites" often does a 180 degree turn-around when a grandbaby or the neighbor's kid is the one that gets bit. And it's ALWAYS a "freak" incident when that happens. No amount of prevention can guarrantee it will never happen. And, oddly, perversely, enough... the shelter operator's first concern is "will they hit the ferret, even if it's just a shock reaction?" because of it. Then the shelter operator feels bad because he/she thought of injury to the ferret before injury to the child. Again, it's a mindset. Be gentle us poor, misguided, denial-frought shelter operators. Beg softly and persistently. Keep stressing that you have more time to give and can more easily afford to provide the very best medical care. Debi Christy Ferrets First Foster Home Practical & easy training, care, & maintenance articles available at http://www.geocities.com/ferretsfirst/ [Posted in FML issue 3671]