Are you prepared to be overwhelmed as soon as you open your doors? Do
you have a good relationship with at least one ferret knowledgeable vet
(two or three is even better)? How are you going to pay for your vet
bills? Food bills? Think about what happens when you have dead ferrets
(and you will not be able to save them all). What kind of adoption
process do you want to have? Do you have a place in your house where
you can stack a bunch of cages and give the ferrets play time? Ideally
you would be able to quarantine sick ferrets and/or new ones when they
come in. Do not try to shelter everything - concentrate on one animal.
Find out what the zoning laws in your area are as far as shelters go -
can you meet their requirements? Think about the process of becoming
501(c)3 because you may have to have that status to do
adoptions/outreach at the big pet chains (PetSmart, Petco). How are
you going to find homes for the animals you take in? Are you prepared
to lose your personal life almost entirely? I suggest that having a
ferret club as a support system for the shelter is really helpful
because it will help you find volunteers, foster parents and donors.

I applaud you for wanting to give back to the ferrets but my
(ex)husband and I started a ferret shelter in St. Louis almost by
accident (all we wanted was to meet other ferret owners) and we had no
idea what we were getting into. I now live in Oregon and Chris & Dave
Mathis of the Oregon Ferret Shelter have over 200 ferrets in their
house. That's a lot of ferrets and something to think about.

Good luck!

Sara

[Posted in FML 7170]