Q: "I'm thinking of starting up a shelter, and I wondered if you had any rules or advice on starting one up?" A: I have so much advice, I could be your Dutch uncle... I was going to wait to answer this AFTER the enrichment series, but this only requires a single post and the question is time sensitive, so I'll post it right away. I am going to open a big can-o-worms, and someone might want to open a big can-o-kick-ass, but since this is my OPINION, I'll post it anyway. 1. IF there is a shelter in your area (say, 50 miles or so), DO NOT open a second one! You may not like the people running them, you may be even fighting with them, but this is about the ferrets, not about your ego. There are limited resources in ANY community, and opening a second shelter only divides them, divides cooperation, and divides the loyalties of potential volunteers. In major cities, competing shelters MIGHT coexist, but even so, resources are scant, help a precious commodity, and homeless ferrets are plentiful. I suggest you dump the ego, ignore your emotional baggage, and do WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE FERRETS! It is better to fix an existing shelter than it is to start a second one. 2. DO NOT open a shelter UNTIL you have the financial backing in place FIRST! This may mean starting a club to fund the shelter, taking out a second mortgage, selling some of your property or children to create a veterinary fund, or even working part-time in a brothel, but if you don't have this part figured out at the very beginning, your shelter will consume your personal resources and you will slowly decline into a state of poverty, build crushing debt, and ultimately close the shelter. Don't believe it? Read the archives of the FML, where such a process seems to take between 3-5 years from the effervescent start of the shelter to the depressed "please someone take my ferrets because the shelter is closing" post. 3. Running a shelter is TWO FULL-TIME JOBS, so expect ferrets will become your entire life. Remember vacations? Who will care for the ferrets? Remember nights off? Who will clean or exercise the ferrets? Remember new clothes? Who will pay for a ferret's surgery? Remember having a couple hundred bucks to blow on music CDs? Who will pay for the litter, or the chow, or the bedding, or the soap to wash the bedding? Get the point? I raised 4 kids, and the time and work taking care of ferrets in a shelter makes that experience pale by comparison. 4. GET HELP! You simply cannot do it alone. EVERY shelter operator that has tried has failed. Someone has to step in if you get sick or die, so don't start a shelter until you have that problem solved. IF there is NO shelter close by, IF you have the time, if you have help, and IF you have figured out how to finance the shelter, THEN read on. Otherwise, go back to the first rule. 5. NEVER adopt a ferret to someone who is not willing to take a class on how to care for them, EVEN if they are clearly well educated about the pet. This isn't about knowledge, but rather about the willingness to learn. The questions and answers raised by a group of potential ferret owners--new OR experienced--can help everyone, even those experienced shelter operators listening on the sidelines. Besides, it is a wonderful way to recruit volunteers and club members. 6. NEVER wave an adoption fee (or even part of one), BUT allow adopters to work off the fee in the shelter, or give discounts to club membership. Money is a sick ferret's life-blood; DO NOT SQUANDER it! 7. GET SPONSORS! I can't give specific advice for this because it depends on the economic base of the community, local businesses, and YOUR ability not to come off like a nut. Just find someone good at begging and set 'em loose. 8. Move the ferrets out of the central facility into the homes of volunteers as soon as possible. Costs are less, the volunteers feel like they are doing something worthwhile, your problems of communicable disease is lessened, AND it makes clean-up and maintenance of the central facility much easier. PLUS, it is much better on the ferrets, increasing their chance of enrichment, exercise and human-ferret interaction. 9. Enrichment should be as much a priority as vet care, food, bedding, and exercise. Skimp on none. 10. Stop being an ass and start kissing them. I *AM* serious! If you are a shelter operator, your first priority should be the needs of the ferrets in your care, NOT your ego or your sensibilities. You will find it difficult to keep volunteers, get funds, or convince a vet to give discounted or free care if you are abrasive or needlessly blunt. If you want a wide range of people to like you and follow your lead, then learn the three rules of politics: I like what you say, I like what you believe, and I like you. And smile a lot. These are OPINIONS, and you may or may not agree. Que sera, sera. Some shelter operators may offer more specific advice and I welcome their comments. Bob C [Posted in FML issue 4199]