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.
Well,
it has been one tough year. And to make matters worse, 7 days
into the new year, we had a death in our fuzzy shelter family. Cotton was only 7 years old. A week ago Cotton was rushed to
the vet. I knew I would have trouble with her after Maggie's
passing but I was hoping for more time.
Anyway, the cause of her
bloody stools had been the tumor wedging itself
into her vena cava
and there was nothing that could have helped her,
nothing! The
vet called and asked permission to let her go when she took a
serious
turn for the worse. We asked that someone hold her. We
did all we
could. She is gone.
As soon as the snow storm
passes we will bury her next to her sister Maggie.
I must admit, when
I started the shelter, I knew there would be difficult times, and
I was ready for that with the knowledge that there would be happy
stories to counteract the bad. What I did not take into consideration
was how much the negative would drain me, and no matter how much more
positive, the sad stories would take over my mind. It is hard
to do this. I applaud all the shelter moms/dads out there, regardless
of what breed they have chosen to rescue.
In 2004 the shelter
lost 8 ferrets (Not including Cotton who passed early this year). That is four times the number we lost in 2003. Three of the
fuzzies were voluntary euthanasia for the fact that these ferrets
were not able to have a quality of life and basically had no hope. Two are still a mystery, though one is believed to be due to the hairballs
found in the stomach. Three did not pull through during or after
surgery, and the other passed away in the hospital, we had no idea
he had bone marrow cancer. Not to mention all the wee ones who
have passed on who were already in a permanent home. I’m thankful
the families call me and tell me, but it doesn’t make it easier. All I say to myself is at least they were in a loving home and got
to experience a good life for at least a short while.
Thanks
to my ever so slow computer, I’ve been able to keep track of all the
fuzzies that come through here. So, for 2004, the official numbers
are: 24 Shelter transfers (from other shelters to here), 33
CA confiscates, 73 private surrenders. That’s a total of 130 ferrets
rescued for the year of 2004. Add in the 81 ferrets rescued
in 2003 (which didn’t include the 55 CA confiscated) for a total of
266 ferrets rescued since we opened. That doesn’t include 5
ferrets surrendered for this year, and 11 who found homes.
The
shelter was at 55 ferrets at one point, a bit too high for my comfort
and ability to care for them. Fortunately, I had lots of foster
moms come to the rescue. The fuzzies have slowly moved themselves
into permanent homes. It was one out and two coming in at first,
then we had a wonderful break during the holidays when more were adopted
out than surrendered.
There were some special ferrets
too, those who weren’t supposed to pull through surgery, but did. Yeah, they’re happy in their foster homes, if only every story had
a happy ending like that.
I’ll tell you something about all of
this. We are nearing our second year anniversary, and if deaths
at the shelter quadruple again this year, I know I will quit before
the year is up, as I can only handle so many tough stories. I realize most fuzzies come here in bad shape, and many are day before
dead, but I can only handle so much. I hope someone has the
strength to take over.
I want to take this opportunity to thank
all the volunteers who have contributed so much. I would love
to name everyone, but I know I would unintentionally forget someone,
and I just don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, especially since
the ferrets are so happy because of them.
It takes
a lot out of you when you volunteer. Not only do you want to
take every ferret home, you also want to find ways to keep these fuzzies
from either being abused or neglected. Or if a loving home has
to give up a pet, you want to invent a drug that solves the allergy
problem, or change the law in CA that forces loving humans to give
up their beloved pet. These volunteers also drop everything
last minute to rush a ferret to the emergency vet when I can’t, drive
long hours to transport ferrets in need. They also come here
and help scoop boxes, mix food, clean cages, sew hammocks and sleep
sacks, and constantly invent ideas on how to raise funds and make
things easier on ourselves. Update websites. Foster ill
ones and those with bad temperaments. Spend their Saturdays
educating the public at pet stores. Not to mention the hours
spent on the phone whether it’s with me, or researching something
for me. This is not an easy job. Not only are you dealing
with rescue, but also those who accuse the animal lovers of being
wrong because of their love for the animals, accusations of propaganda,
and doing it for the glory, or for the money. Those people obviously
have never been here, and have never seen how much poop is scooped
every day, but they’re out there, and they accuse. Then you
have those who make appointments and never show, and you’re left with
a wasted afternoon. Or those who promise to help and never even
try, and another afternoon wasted waiting to meet with them. This is one thankless job, so I want to say thank you, from me and
all the ferrets, past, future, and present.
On a different
note…
Have you seen all this ridiculous snow? If you haven’t,
you’re not in Reno or Sparks, or the surrounding areas. On January
7th we had to take two ferrets in for adrenal surgeries, and one was
an emergency so the weather was not going to stop us. Normally
the drive to Minden to see our vet is only an hour, but yesterday
it took us three. Granted, we did stop for a half hour to put
on chains. I’m glad we made it up there, and
both ferrets did
great through surgery, and we got to say goodbye to
Cotton, so the
drive was well worth it. It did take us another 3 hours
to get
back, then I had to rush and get to work. Fortunately, they
were
We took some of the fuzzies
out on the snow, but only for a short
while, might be a little cold
on their paws, at least that’s my
assumption. A couple of them
had a blast, and the rest were sort
of freaked out, with a couple of
puffed tails.
Adoptions and surrenders have been slow, thanks
to the wonderful
weather seems no one cares to travel outside of their
home, I don’t
blame them, I myself cancelled on event at Petsmart so
that we may
Tip of the month:
Well, it’s that time of year again
where you’re supposed to go spend a bunch of money you don’t have
on a bunch of flowers that will just wither away in a matter of 4
days, and while you might get some lovin from your significant other,
you’re probably wondering what made you go crazy and empty your pocket
book. So this year, instead, we suggest you make a card and
pretend It’s from your little fuzzies instead. That will go
a lot further than a bunch of chocolates that will make your significant
other put on weight and then have them ask you if they’re fat.
Sometimes,
doing something very simple, like a coupon for doing the chores, or
a back rub, can go a very long way.
This is my little boy Grinch. (As in a personal
ferret and not adoptable because he’s MINE). Many of you have
met him, and you know he’s not exactly little. At one point
he weighed almost 5 lbs (all muscle) but then he became adrenal, and
we removed the left gland. A year later he became adrenal again
and we froze the right side. He has been slowly putting his
muscles back on, but is only at 3.12 lbs currently. Adrenal
causes ferrets muscles to waste and turn into fat. While his
tumors were small, his symptoms were not.
And what does a shelter need? Here’s my wish
list, please note that I share some donations with Ferrets with Soule
shelter, so what you donate will help double the fuzzies!
Blankets
and towels or… fabric (fleece preferred) so we can sew our own!
Treats,Ferretone, ferretvite, Nutrical
Food - Totally ferret/Pro plan kitten
chicken flavor/Mazuri/Pathvalley farms/8 in 1 Ultimate.
Laundry
Soap
Toys toys toys.
Litter (yesterdays news or generic brand).
Paper towels
Paper and ink to print this newsletter
$$$ For Vet costs,
you can donate directly to Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital
775-782-3693
under Northern Nevada Ferret Network.
And most important on our wish
list… a home for all the fuzzy kids!
If you would like to donate to the vet costs,
there is an account set up under Northern Nevada Ferret Network, just
call them at 775-782-3693.
We are currently in a serious need
of funds as the vet bill is much higher than we would like (We’d like
it at zero of course but we’re not even close). Until the bill
is paid down, we are on a emergency status only.
Images and Information are property of the
NNFN. Contact our webmaster if you would like to use images or information
about our ferrets on another website.
Copyright © 2004 Northern Nevada
Ferret Network