Hi Everyone, My name is Kathy and I run the Central NY Safe Ferret Rescue/Shelter. I've been doing this for 3 years and earlier this year decided to no longer take in any new ferrets due to the amount of money I've had to spend taking care of all the ferrets. At one point, I had almost 40 ferrets (I know that's not many compared to some of the shelters). Luckily, I had many phone calls from people looking for ferrets so they were able to be adopted quickly. All the ferrets that came to me went to see my vet, were checked and had all their shots. Of course with that many ferrets, some also needed surgeries that I was able to pay for. It got to the point where my money ran out and had to make a decision. That decision has worked out well becuz instead of taking in ferrets, I match them up with people looking for ones to adopt. I basically go through the same application process as if they were here then if I feel they would make good parents, I would give the phone number of the person that had the ferret(s) to the p erson that wanted to adopt. The person that no longer wanted the ferret would then ask any questions they wanted to. This has worked out very well since yesterday. I got a call from a girl who had a friend that was going to put her 3 ferrets to sleep cuz "she couldn't get rid of them". When I heard this, I told the girl to bring them to me, that I would take them in. They came last nite......very sweet!! The first boy I took out of the carrier has hardly any hair......adrenal surgery needed. The second boy I told out looked good until I saw a large patch of skin with no hair on his back....another adrenal surgery. The next one was a little girl that looks good but stares into space quite a bit....possibly insulinoma? They're all very skinny and somewhat playful. I had told the girl to be sure to bring the food they were eating and when I looked at it (it was in a grocery bag), I knew it was the cheap cat food and man, did it stink! I gave them the food I give my babies and they devoured it!! I had to clip their nails cuz they were so long and I've got to clean out their ears yet. I've been calling my vet but I don't think they open til 9:00 and I'm going to make appointments for them for surgeries. My problem is I don't have the extra cash for them but I know I'll be able to make payments. If anyone can help me out with any kind of cash donation, I would be so very grateful!! I have no idea how much the surgeries will cost.... depending on whether they're the right or left adrenal and if the little girl has insulinoma. I have no idea what they're ages are or even their names. I don't really think they're much over 3 years old. My ferret vet is 2 hours away in Brockport and he's the only one that I know of in my area that knows what he's doing and doesn't charge outrageous prices. If anyone can help, you can contact his office. His number is 585-637-6190 and his name is Dr. Edwards in Brockport, NY. I can also be reached at 877-416-7900. These ferrets really need these surgeries and any help would be sooooo very much appreciated!!! I've never done this before but I am not a 501(C) organization and the money comes from my pocket. Thanks for letting me ramble and thanks in advance to anyone that can help me. Kathy Evans http://community.syracuse.com/cc/ferrets [Posted in FML issue 3882]