I received so many interesting e-mails from people on the subject of ferret shelters. I understand now why some were confused by what I wrote. *** DUH!**** It wasn't how I phrased what I wrote. It is that Dozens of you feel that you are shelters ,and I would not have ever thought so!!! I know of a breeder that calls herself a shelter. She has a porch for the kittens that she can't sell that she breeds. She calls her porch of kittens and cats she could not sell a shelter. There is the person in Michigan with all those ferrets she neglects according to e-mails I have read. She seems to be addicted to ferrets. They suffer under her lack of care. But she calls herself a shelter. There was someone on food stamps that sells them for money for ferrets she takes in. Since she is sheltering animals that others are throwing out-she writes that she is a shelter. She loves these animals and says she cares for them very well. And could I make a donation? Then there are those with no phone. They live with someone else and might take in ferrets others are getting rid of. They ask around if anyone wants a ferret. If not-these ladies keep the ferrets. They are shelters according to their beliefs. Then there are those of you with dozens of ferret cages in your house for dozens of ferrets, and have no name or even a seperate account for your shelter. You are all shelters in your belief. Personally, I took in and found homes for 4 animals just in the last 10 months. Three others I took in in the last year I am sheltering. One was going to be euthenized 30 minutes from the time I walked in to a shelter. One was left to die at Petco. One was kept covered in excrement in a bathtub in an unused bathroom by a nice woman whose son had dumped the" ugly rat thing" on her.. I spend $12,000 to $18,000 a year on animals that are wild, feral, at shelters,sick, starving, animals that were abandoned, are injured, or in need of surgery. Currently-I am trying to save the lives of two kittens. They are skinny, cold, and homeless. I have bowls of fresh water out day and night with expensive kitten food to try and keep these guys alive. I just spent $63. tonight for a house for them on the porch. I ran a heating pad out there and placed it in the house. The 5 to 10 pounds of food each night for the other animals is also there. What is a giant surprise to me is to learn that I am a shelter. I have a seperate account for the animals, a listed phone number with my name, and I shelter animals. I AM a shelter by the standards dozens of you gave me.!!! I never looked at things the way so many writing to me see things. It sounds too pridefull to say I am a shelter right now. I love animals, and take time and money to care for them. They are all too often helpless victims in the schemes of mankind. I wish everyone could help jsut a little bit. If all of us helped-there would be major differences..' That is how I would define me instead of a shelter. I will have to live with all the info. you guys have shared with me for awhile to decide what I am. Meanwhile, I would like to say something: ALL of you wrote politely and kindly despite my stunning ignorance of how many of you define a shelter. BIG is so right. You guys are wonderful!!! Lisette [Posted in FML issue 2876]