Hi all, I'm writing for my 5.5-year-old post adrenal guy, Grover. Grover just lost his only friend 2 weeks ago, and is lonely and bored. I'd like to get him a friend in the very near future, although AT THE MOMENT (please note I said "at the moment" and spare me any scolding emails about getting a ferret when money is tight) we just sunk a lot into his bilateral adrenalectomy at Tufts as well as the emergency hospital bills for his cagemate. The money situation AT THE MOMENT prevents us from purchasing another ferret, something I don't really want to do anyway; babies are cute, but years of working with rescues makes it tough for me to support the pet store ferret trade. The monkey wrench to finding him a shelter buddy is that my guy is not vaccinated (reacts badly) and I can't actually take him to the shelter to meet his future friend. Because his vet bills wiped us out, even an adoption fee is a little uncomfortable - at the MOMENT. A few near-misses have happened...I talked to a friend of someone at work who wanted a new home for her 2 ferrets, only I was led to believe that she just wanted to give them up, while in the course of our conversation it turned out that she wanted to sell them for $100 each. Most of the ferrets needed re-homing in our parts are for sale, and for prices that indicate an unrealistically optimistic view of ferret retail value on their owner's part. So I have my ear to the ground right now for a ferret or two ferrets in the Western Mass area who need a new home, who might get along with a 5-year-old who still has quite a lot of energy, but can be something of a boor when it comes to introductions; he has very little "ferret etiquette" and in the past has needed strong personalities to put him in his place. He's not mean...more like that kid in grade school who pulled your pigtails. He's a little obnoxious, but also very sweet and very, very loving when he bonds with another ferret. Again, please, I'm just putting this out there in case an ideal situation exists. No flames or lectures on how we shouldn't get another ferret if we can't afford an adoption fee. We can...just not for another month or two, and meanwhile my guy is very lonely. I've had 11 ferrets all told and worked with shelters since 1997, and I know the costs, I know why adoption fees are set as they are, so please no lectures on the importance of adoption fees. In fact, let me just add an official disclaimer that I am NOT attacking adoption fees, to nip that in the bud. To sum up, we're very temporarily a bit strapped because of some high vet bills, but a ferret who's always had friends just lost his last one and I'd love to find him somebody to snuggle with sooner, rather than later, because his happiness is very important to me, especially since they have such a short time; I don't want him to spend any more if it lonely than he has to. We would also be interested in fostering, with the adoption option. So, if Grover's friend is out there somewhere within reasonable driving distance from western Mass, please let him know (via me). Thanks! Heather Mainville [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML 5489]