I'd be interested in hearing from anyone on the FML who either runs a small, in-home shelter or who regularly takes in "unadoptable" ferrets. We're beginning to think along those lines, and I'd be interested in any advice you can offer. I've been speaking with several shelter people lately, and they all say that its relatively easy to "start small" - HOW? It seems to me that as soon as you put your name out in the public domain as someone who'll take in ferrets, you don't really have any way of knowing (or controlling!) how many ferrets you get. Since I know I could never refuse a ferret at my doorstep (grin), how do you manage to keep things in line? Or do you just *hope* that you never end up with, say, 25 ferrets being dropped off in a months' time? (I'm trying to be realistic here - my fiance and I are both still working on our dissertations, so we have limited space in the house and limited money in the savings account. What happens if you suddenly get swamped?) Also, any advice at all, either about things to have on hand, things to know in advance, or just any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated! -Rochelle [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1073]