I just wanted to introduce myself and my new shelter in southwestern New Hampshire, Shady Pines Ferret Sanctuary. My name is Rebecca Simpson, but that's the less important part. I'm new to the ferret rescue world and new to FML, so reading everything in the archives is my first order of duty. I hope to be able to use the FML and its members to educate myself so I can educate people out here where I live. Ferrets in poor condition in pet stores is the norm, and shelters are few and far between, though I do live in the same area as Ferret Wise. I surf craigslist and some other local lists trying to grab whatever ears and eyes that I can, especially when people are looking to get involved with ferrets, but also when they're having trouble or trying to rehome. Shady Pines Ferret Sanctuary (www.shadypinesferretsanctuary.info) just became a registered non-profit in New Hampshire, and we are shortly applying for federal 501(c)3 non-profit status as well as our NH shelter license. We currently house 13 ferrets, though only about 4 are placeable - we have one adrenal, two suspected adrenals, one insulinoma, one inflammatory bowel, one dilated cardiomyopathy. We do hospice care, since it seems an integral part of caring for ferrets, unfortunately. I really want to see the day that there aren't ferrets to rescue, because they're not being bred en masse and they're being bred for health and longevity...but I suspect I'm not alone in this. Thank you all for being here Rebecca [Posted in FML 5709]