Dear FML-ers, I don't do this well and I don't do this often(really never). But I've been "reading" all of you for so long, I feel as if I'm coming to friends. I volunteer for a very large shelter(probably the largest in the country). Large shelters have large problems. We have been silently plugging away for nearly ten years making ends meet somehow. We lost everything in hurricane Andrew (fortunately no ferrets were lost). We slowly recovered. We had a shipment of over 80 unaltered ferrets "donated" to us. We were devastated. We slowly recovered. We got the ECE with over 150 ferrets in our care. We were slowly recovering. We got it again. This it seems was more than we could bear. Besides the daily cost of running such a large shelter, (food, litter, medications, special diets, electricity, phone, water), we have now had to hire help because our shelter mom is not in the best of health and can no longer take the grueling schedule of keeping 98 cages clean. We have a few faithful volunteers but most have dropped away because they are understandably afraid of bringing home the ECE to their "kids". We have closed our doors to taking in surrenders and started a referral service for them. We only take in strays. As of June 15th the number of shelter residents was 125 and over half of those are permanent "guests" because of age or serious health problems. Even the adoptable ones are staying longer because we can't adopt them out to homes already containing ferrets for fear of ECE contagion. Now that you know a little history, let me tell you why I'm really writing this. We have been fortunate to have near the shelter a handful of incredibly ferret knowledgeable vets. Unfortunately their services are not free. Because of the amount of illness we've had at the shelter in the last couple of years, our bill has continually mounted. . . with interest. We are now on the verge of being refused care. Care that 125 ferrets cannot live without. We have life and death emergencies which arise almost daily. We have nowhere left to turn. Our club membership and sponsorship just doesn't make a dent in this seemingly insurmountable bill when we have daily expenses to cover. Please understand we have never done this before and hope to never have to again but we are desperate. Our outstanding vet bill is $4,000.00. I know there are so many needs elsewhere but if anyone feels so compelled to help us, we would be so very grateful. It is a very humbling experience to walk into the vets office with an emergency case when you can't afford to pay for it or all the others you've brought before. But we are believing that if we can raise even half, we will be able to show good faith again and once more plug our way back to recovery. I know there are many of you who would generously offer to take some of the sick ones off our hands but unfortunately that is not an option. So many of them have been with us for years, they are comfortable, it is their home, they are on a schedule. The stress of moving them would be overwhelming for them. Thank you for understanding. You may visit our website at: http://www.gate.net/~mjanke We are a 501c3 tax deductible organization so that need not be a concern. Just earmark the check for "vet bill". Our mailing address is: South Florida Ferret Club and Rescue, Inc. P.O. Box 570927 Miami, FL 33257-0927 I would be more than happy to answer any questions anyone might have. Feel free to contact me at: [log in to unmask] Thank you from the bottom of 125 fuzzy little hearts. For the Ferrets, Carin Riley Development Committee Chairperson South Florida Ferret Club and Rescue, Inc. [Posted in FML issue 1986]