The Biggest Little Ferret Shelter & Northern Nevada Ferret Network Monthly Newsletter

Members of the Biggest Little Ferret Shelter and the Northern Nevada Ferret Network write this newsletter.

The NNFN, Northern Nevada Ferret Network is a group of ferret enthusiasts who get together and talk ferret talk, how to raise money, how to spend money, ideas, how to get the needed education about ferrets out there, etc. 

The BLFS, Biggest Little Ferret Shelter is a no-kill ferret shelter where no ferret is denied the right to be a ferret.  www.renoferrets.org

New volunteers always welcome!  The NNFN is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

To contact us email redferret4@yahoo.com Join our Yahoo group at nnfn@yahoogroups.com or visit www.nnfn.net.

 

Picture this, you’ve done all your preparations, two generators incase the power goes out, moved everything to higher ground incase of flooding, plenty of canned food and a barbecue to cook on.  You think you’re prepared.  What you didn’t realize is that you’ll have less than an hour to evacuate your home.

 

Now you’re walking through water that is up to your neck, your significant other has a play pen on their head, and you have a carrier with seven ferrets on top of yours.  You managed to load up a garbage bag full of basic necessities, your ferrets medicine, a bag of ferret food, some litter, a litter box, everything you think your ferrets will need to be halfway comfortable.  And maybe some small items for yourselves, you know, a change of clothes, or at least a pair of underwear.

 

Are you really prepared if disaster hits?

This really happened.  Do you remember Holly?  The talented girl who drew all those cute pictures for this newsletter?  The one that created the shelter logo?  Who created the Renoferrets.org site?  Her and her husband moved to Mobile AL last December.  They thought they were prepared.  Hurricanes aren’t exactly unheard of. They had hurricane insurance.  Plenty prepared to be with out power for several weeks.

 

What they weren’t expecting is to have their home destroyed to the point of condemned.  All their belongings ruined. 

 

But they did have a plan.  They got themselves and their furry kids out alive.  The ferrets may no longer have their cage, but they have a playpen.  Which is more than sufficient at this time.  They have food, they have meds, and now there are some vets back up and running their facilities.

 

All of this made me not only worry, but realize that I’m not prepared.  If disaster were to strike, I don’t have enough carriers for all the ferrets here.  I don’t have a plan of where I would take them, or where I would go myself.  If I had to evacuate today, I don’t know if I could do it.

 

This of course brings me to a point. ARE you prepared?

 

Do you have enough carriers/leashes for all your furry pets?  A temporary cage?  Sometimes the huge cage your ferrets currently live in may not be realistic to pack up in your car, or carry on top of your head.  Do you have food? Meds?  Bedding?  And can you get to all of this in a timely manner so that you may not neglect yourself?

 

If there were a fire in your home this evening, will you be able to find all your ferrets in a matter of seconds?  Do you know where all their sleeping spots are?  Or do you already keep them locked in a cage all night incase of such emergency?

 

Do you have enough medicines for your ferrets to get you by for at least a couple of weeks, or do you wait until the last minute to refill?

 

And when you are away and have friends or a hired pet sitter coming by, do they know what to do in case of an unforeseen emergency?  Do they know where you keep all the basics should they need to get it out in a matter of seconds?

 

Do you have a plan of where you would go in case you needed a place to stay?  WITH your furry companions? Human shelters do not accept animals.  This is a very strict policy. 

 

Sometimes we get so busy that we take advantage of our commodities, and don’t think of what we would do in case of emergency.  It may seem silly to make plans of evacuation in the city of Reno, but really, you can never be too prepared. Sometimes the weather is unpredictable, just look at all the snow we had this last winter, no one really expected that.  And the flooding back in, what was it? ’96?  That was a surprise too. And earthquakes are not unheard of in this area. Anything can happen between now and then, and the only thing we can do is be prepared.

 

I know I’m going to purchase several extra carriers, and have them ready. Next to my carriers I will have a baby diaper bag, I think that will be roomy enough for the basics.  Ferret food, nutrical, ferretone, nail trimmers, medicine, etc.  I will keep this bag filled at all times, and will rotate “stock” per say, as I purchase new things, this way it won’t be expired if an emergency happens.

 

Most people don’t have 20 ferrets at a time, but many people also don’t have just one pet.  Regardless how many ferrets in your home, or how many other types of pets, you should be prepared.  Don’t expect that your animal will be able to swim to safety incase of flooding. Or that it will survive in the cage incase of a fire.  When you choose to have a pet as a companion, you also to choose to ensure their safety and protection, they are counting on you.

August/September 2005 Issue

There sometimes comes a time, in peoples lives, where they realize that they can no longer care for their beloved pet.  Sometimes life happens, and the unexpected can cause someone to not be able to care for their animal.  This is unfortunate, and happens more often than we think. 

 

But with overwhelmed shelters, and most no-kill shelters not accepting private surrenders, regardless of reason, what should someone do to find their pet a home?

 

I’m going to concentrate this article on ferrets, as this is a ferret newsletter, but you can of course apply this to most other animals.

First off, do you really have to give up your pet?  When you purchased or adopted your pet, it was for life.  Perhaps you didn’t do enough research prior to purchase to make sure this is the right pet for your family.  More often than not, ferrets are given up because lack of research was done on them.  The new owners didn’t realize that these ferrets would dig a tunnel to China through their carpet. And turn their couches into food hoarding zones, or burrows. Litter box training is never a 100%.  The amount of vet care, is often a huge surprise to a ferret owner.  By no means are ferrets cheap.  With all the inbreeding going on with some large farms, I’m surprised our ferrets don’t suffer from more illnesses than they already do.

 

So, hopefully, you rescued you ferrets and didn’t buy from the pet store, where your money went directly to the farm that continues to inbreed and unethically alter at a too young of an age.  And hopefully you didn’t fall for the warranty requirement to buy their food, which is fish based, and makes your ferret smell, followed by bi-odor to get rid of the smell, which gets you to give them more money...

 

Oops, getting off topic here, sorry...

 

Okay, so life happened, illness in the family, eviction, uncontrollable allergies, loss of job, etc.  We realize everyone’s circumstance will perhaps affect you differently than anyone else. It would be unfair for me to judge whether keeping or surrendering your ferret is the right choice. So let’s say, you can’t keep your ferret, you can’t even afford cheap cat food now, you realize, this IS unfair to your animal.  And as difficult as it may be, you need to find it a home.

 

So now what?  You call me, and I tell you that I’m sorry, I no longer take in private surrenders due to the overwhelming numbers of sick ferrets that came in and caused me to be financially hurt for the rest of my life.  You call the Humane Society and Regional Animal Services, they euthanize if not adopted by a certain time frame.  You call the SPCA, they don’t take ferrets.

 

You almost feel like you’re stuck with your pet.

 

The good news is that there are plenty of people out there looking for ferrets.  They want to rescue, they don’t care what color the ferret is or if it’s a boy or girl, they just want to rescue a soul that needs it.  But how do you find these people?

 

Well, thanks to today’s modern technology, you have lots of options. You can put an ad in the paper, join many of the yahoogroups, such are Renoferrets@yahoogroups.com  This is a fairly new group, but is specifically created for people in need of exchanging their ferrets, to join, go here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Renoferrets/. You can make up flyers and post in grocery stores.  Also, you can call me, and give me the info on your ferret/s, and I will gladly pass this on to those who are looking.

 

 

So now you’ve flyered up a storm, you joined every yahoogroup you could find, and you spent $20 to put an ad in the paper.  Now what?  People start calling, but you’re just not so sure about them, but you’re not sure what you should ask them to screen them either.  Here are things I would do if it were me...

 

~Ask to see their place, make sure it’s ferret proofed, free of debris on the floor the ferret could eat and hurt themselves with.

 

~See if they have other animals, if they have a terrier or another breed that hunts small critters, chances are, a ferret is not a good pet for them.

 

~Do they seek veterinary care for their current animals?  If so, ask to see vet bills.  People will claim to take their animals to the vet, but will never actually take them, not even for wellness checks.

 

~Make sure they aren’t just looking for a free ferret that they will get bored of and keep in their closet after a week, and also, don’t expect to be able to charge so much that you’re making money.

 

~Ask if you can stay in touch and call occasionally to see how they’re doing. Understand, some people may say no, because they fear you will try to take your animal back when your situation is better, this is understandable and acceptable.  But I figure it can’t hurt to ask.

 

~How many hours a day do they plan to interact with your ferret/s, how long out of the cage each day?  What will they feed them? Who will be the vet?

 

~If they have children, is it obvious that the parents are interacting with the child to teach them how to interact with an animal correctly?

 

So now you have found your perfect home, and you have to say goodbye.  Don’t drag this out for yourself. The longer you wait, the harder you make it.  And the longer you drag it out for your ferrets new family.  People will only wait for so long, before they come to the conclusion that you just can’t part with your animals, and they will seek a ferret elsewhere. 

 

But what if your ferret is ill?  Let’s say it has adrenal disease?  And you can’t pay for it? 

 

If you haven’t already started a savings account for your ferret, or a credit card specifically for vet care, now is the time to arrange that. You can’t expect to dump your ill animal on someone else.  An adrenal surgery is not cheap, it can be anywhere from $400 to $1800 depending on the vet and the procedure along with the area where you live.

 

If you truly have to part with your sick ferret, then you should offer to pay for their medical care.  Explain to the new family your financial situation, and offer to make them payments for the ferrets care. 

 

I’m sorry, but it is rare that someone will take on a sick ferret and offer proper veterinary care out of

their own pocket.  I know of people that will take on your sick ferret, but they won’t take it to the

vet.  This really isn’t the type of home you want to place your ferret in.  But to ask someone to take on immediate medical expenses is not fair.  If you are financially hurting, at least offer the new family a payment plan, and please, do not ask them to pay you $300 for their cage.

 

For more info how to find a new home for your fuzzy, please contact us at the NNFN. www.nnfn.net

**Urgent Action Needed**

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting input on the need for ferret specific regulations on the housing, care and transport of ferrets as governed by the Animal Welfare Act. Details on the original Petition for Rulemaking, the USDA's request for input, and how the whole process works are here.  For more info, please go to http://www.ferretcongress.org/

IMPORTANT: The deadline for public input is October 4, 2005.

Katrina Rescue Effort

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