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.
I just heard that the Governor's
office is asking the public's opinion on our ferret amnesty bill.
I absolutely urge you all to call in your support for this bill as
soon as possible. Follow the prompts and select the one that asks
for you opinion on legislation.
I just called but I want you all to
listen carefully in case it changes. To respond to legislation, press
#2, then listen for SB 89, press #3, then to support SB 89 press #1.
Please have all of your friends and family call in. This is, I believe
good news but we must answer this loud and clear!
The Governor's number
is: 916 445-2841
Don't let this unique opportunity to be heard by the
Governor's Office go by!
Some folks from out of state have asked if
they should call, and I don't see what's wrong with that. If you plan
to move or visit CA this will affect you too someday. But, we absolutely
MUST have Californians call so if you live in CA, or have friends
and/or family in California, please have them call as soon as possible!
Do I have a story for you! But first, before you start
reading, please take a few things into consideration.
Rescue
is tough, we deal with all kinds of people and ferrets, but we don’t
judge, because sometimes life throws things at us that prevent us
from being able to do what someone else thinks is right. This
is not only pertaining to individuals but organizations too. If the law says I have to do something a certain way, the only way
I can continue rescue, is by following that law. I may not agree
with it, but that is life, and you should not judge me for it.
So
now, the story of Hope:
I was doing a day trip in San Francisco
to take care of some personal life, and my cell phone rang while I
was awaiting my flight at the airport. It was Reno Animal Services
(RAS) giving me a heads up about some ferrets ready for rescue in
a few days. RAS keeps ferrets for 10 days and then calls me
if they haven’t been adopted, at which time I bring them to the shelter.
I
was surprised, no one ever gives me a heads up on the ferrets there,
but after talking for a couple of minutes, I learned that one of the
ferrets can not be released. Bit an employee, drew blood. According to NV law, only the owner of the animal or their immediate
family can retrieve the animal. So why would they call me to
tell me about this? Did they want me to find the owner?
After
several trips to RAS, and the pick up of the other ferrets there,
I was gradually becoming discouraged of the little girl that was left
there. To make matters worse, her two friends that were already
here, were unspayed and un-neutered, which meant she wasn’t spayed
either, which meant she may be pregnant.
Several hours were spent researching
the law and several more hours were spent trying to figure out how
we could save the little girl. I’m sure RAS got tired of me
calling constantly. Emails for pleas for help were sent across
the US. Several great ideas were sent back, and of course, a
few people cursing out the agency for holding the animal. I
tried to remind everyone that the law is the law, and the only way
to continue rescue is to follow that law.
I named the little girl Hope,
because I wanted her to have a chance. I met her several
times while going in and out of RAS picking up other ferrets, and
every time I felt an incredible guilt leaving her behind, knowing
I had her friends, and knowing that she only bit out of fear, not
to hurt someone, but to protect herself.
On her final day, I was sending
messages to everyone, and so were other members of the shelter, we
sent out a plea to everyone you can imagine, and wouldn’t you know
it, we got through, the owners stepped forward. The story of
how the wee one got to RAS I was asked to save for another newsletter,
as it is a sad one, and also to protect the person from slander.
The important thing is that the owner learned where their ferret was,
and the situation, and was able to get there in the final hours to
save the little girl, and turn Hope over to the ferret shelter.
I am sure everybody remembers Queen Jenny, well I have
a great update. Jenny has been with us for almost a year now,
and she has gone through some amazing changes. She will play
with everyone, even her nemisis Mischief....lol... But the best
news of all is she has formed a bond with everyone. She now
will sleep in the big cage all cuddled up with someone. Her
favorite friends are Chance and Fang. This morning when I got
up and checked on everyone to see how their night had gone,
Fang & Jenny were all curled up around each other sleeping away.
This
might not sound like much, but when Jenny first came home with me
she would terrorize Wolfie & Brock scaring them so bad it
would take Chris and I both to coax them out of hiding which sometimes
could take up to 20 minutes.
2nd Annual Ferret Frolic
The second annual ferret frolic
will be held on October 9th of this year in Reno at the Northtowne
Petco. Vaccination and ADV tests required. Please contact
us for more info or check our site! www.nnfn.net or www.renoferrets.org
There will be a $5 admission fee.
Did you know?
The
shelter is full? Okay, over flowing with ferrets now. Sent 10
off to foster homes and still had 43 ferrets here, along with 6 on
a waiting list.
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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