I just got the sweetest message from Judith White, Georgia Wood, and Ela Heyn. Thanks to the donations that YOU, the FMLers, gave to the Shelter Fund, there is now a credit waiting for me at Jeffers to use on shelter supplies. This couldn't have come at a better time. We went from nine ferrets to 25 in a week, granted some are just boarders, but still we're bursting a bit, and we have more due to arrive next week. This is just my branch of the PFRA, it doesn't count the other two PFRA branches. Many people may not realize what it's like to run a shelter. It's the most fulfilling and heartbreaking experience, all at the same time. It costs more than most of us can generally afford just to keep ferrets fed and medicated, but I rarely hear a shelter director complain about it. We see the ferrets come in confused and unaware of why their home is no longer their home, then go into homes and become reborn when they realize that they had never really known what living was all about until they finally found a REAL home. The letters I get from people who have adopted from me bring tears to my eyes. This keeps me going. It is so wonderful that so many of you have helped to support the shelters. I know I am not the only shelter to have benefitted from the donations to the Shelter Fund. Every dollar counts. The donation that I just received will go to syringes and vaccinations, which we always need, the ferrets that come in almost NEVER are current. You all are so wonderful. You participate in auctions to benefit the ferrets, you donate to the Shelter Fund, you send out single dollars to ten shelters. You buy coupon books and coloring books and check out Judith's telephone and internet service. All of this makes so much of a difference, not to shelter Directors, but to shelter FERRETS. Let me tell you about the most recent two ferrets I took in. Their names are Shadow and Rocky. Shadow is an adorable little six year old female chocolate. She is very active and playful, but has a horrible wheeze in her lungs which I fear is cardiomyopathy but hope is a remnant of a cold. Her blood sugar was 62 last week, she's being re-checked this weekend, we're hoping she was just stressed and it will be higher, but if not, she's got insulinoma. We don't find many homes for cancer ferrets (except for Jenni Glenn, proud owner of Ozzy, Oso, and Zeppelin who had her pick of ferrets and took the one that had cancer--bless you Jenni!!) no matter how cute they are or how many kisses they give. But Shadow will get all of the medical treatments that she needs, no matter the cost. Rocky, who I call Little Rock, is a seven year old that I believe is a sable. I was told that she had insulinoma when the owner called to tell me she couldn't keep Shadow and Rocky any longer. When I arrived, I found a ferret bald from neck to tail. She is blind as a bat. She looks like the Budweiser ferret. Her back claws have NEVER been clipped, evident because they were the most distorted, bent, twisted, orange, thick growths I've ever seen, they resembled onion rings. The first thing that she did when I picked her up was gave me kisses. I hope that meant that she finally found someone that was going to give her the care that she was so visibly crying out for. Little Rock was a healthy size when I took her in, but she became depressed shortly after arriving and stopped eating. For five long days, I tried to find something, anything that she would eat, but to no avail. I was really starting to think I would lose her. Miraculously, two days ago she started eating and I swear, every time I checked on her she was munching away! My vet, who is not quick to do surgery, wholeheartedly feels that we should give it a try for Little Rock. The estimate came to $250-$450, depending on the length of surgery and if we need to do biopsies and how much we need to remove. This is the cost after my discount. But never once did I think not to do it. The moment she reached up and gave me those kisses, she'd stolen my heart. She's sure to break it, but I'll be darned if I won't make every day special for her until that day comes. I just want to say again, to each and every one of you who donated even a dollar, THANK YOU. It has not gone unnoticed, nor unappreciated. It means more than words can say. Sincerely, Little Rock, Shadow, Bino, Lucy, Mittens, Zim Zum, Marty, Twiggy, Napoleon, Josephine, and Koto (shelter ferrets, adoptable and permanent): "Please keep donating... if it weren't for donations, we probably wouldn't be here right now!!" And their Shelter Mom, Kymberlie Becker Barone Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association Montgomery County Branch "Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady Mookie, Mikayla, Slinky: "M-oooo-mmm, why didn't you tell them about US, we were rescues, too!" (Because I kept you guys just because I fell in love with you and therefore you're no longer shelter ferrets, you're just mine!) Lil' Grunt, Kerplunk, Trouble, and Patchwork Princess: "Shelter, smelter. We're just happy to have a home where we are LOVED!" [Posted in FML issue 2323]