February 2004 Issue - Happy Valentines Day!

The NNFN, Northern Nevada Ferret Network is  a group of ferret enthusiasts who get together monthly and talk ferret talk, how to raise money, how to spend money, ideas, etc. 

About The Board:  President: October, Secretary:  Char, Treasurer:  Ardith, Director: Echo, Webmaster: Lee

New volunteers always welcome!

Join our Yahoogroup at nnfn@yahoogroups.com

Welcome to our monthly publication of ferrety news! If you have suggestions for our newsletter name please submit them to us.  If you have requests of what you would like to see in this newsletter, please let us know also.

This newsletter is written by members of the Biggest Little Ferret Shelter and the Northern Nevada Ferret Network.

To contact us email redferret4@yahoo.com

Well, it’s been a year, I can’t believe it. I feel like I just started a few weeks ago, time has flown by so fast, and so has my bank account, but that’s alright, because the fuzzies are happy, and that’s all that matters.

 

We’ve accomplished a lot in a year, got a very strong volunteer base going, may not be many of us, but we’re here!  And we have finally found a logo! I can personalize stuff now, make it shelter official.

 

Next will be making t-shirts to help raise money, we’re thinking something like “my ferret beat up your ferret” or maybe “my ferret is cuter than your ferret” I don’t know, ideas welcome though.

 

Then we’ll move to magnets, I have been toying with the idea for some time and tried a couple variations, but I think I need to stick to taking care of ferrets as I’m good at that, not at making magnets.

 

I’m looking forward to see what the next year brings, and how many ferrets I get to meet J

Another Success!

 

I met October at the first annual Ferret Frolic hosted by the NNFN in October 2003. We had gotten our first 2 ferrets the year before. (Our original girl Chibi, and our lil’ boy Sabre)  We decided to go see the shelter, meet the kids, and drop off some paper towels and food, without the intention of going home with any new fuzzies. We must have been new to the idea of “ferret math”, because we went form 2 ferrets to 6 ferrets very quickly!

We spent all day playing with all the shelter kids. There where kids we really liked. So we brought our 2 over to see who they liked!

I fell in love with 2 youngsters form California. Cocoa and Butter where beautiful girls,  about 5 months old. They where so young and playful!

October had two other girls, about a year old. The girls that where “found” in Mira Loma park. My husband fell in love with them. The shelter had named these little sweethearts Pepper and Poppy. So we went home with 6 ferrets! Although Pepper and Poppy are now known as Peanut and Jelly!

After a few days of Sabre showing his new “harem” that he was top fuzzy, we had a happy ferret home! I love to come home and find a pile of ferrets sleeping. Not to mention 6 are much more entertaining than 2!! And we get three times as many kisses. We knew we liked ferrets before, but now we are down right addicted! J

 

Thanks to the Biggest Little Ferret Shelter, and October.
To contact the shelter please email redferret4@yaoo.com if you have questions on ferret care, want to adopt, help, volunteer, or whatever, just email, I try to be as available as I can be, but sometimes I get busy, please be understanding.

Holly & Skip with new family members.

Cocoa, Butter, Peanut & Jelly.

And what does the 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, treats and more treats.

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 and cleaning supplies.  Ferretone, ferretvite, Nutrical

A digital camera to keep track of all the fuzzies and update the sites.

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!

 

You can also support us by purchasing our sleep sacks and hammocks!   Sometimes cages too. Or you can donate to the shelter pay pal account redferret4@yahoo.com

Hi everyone,

If your annual NNFN dues are due, please send to P.O. Box 71481 Reno, NV 89570-1481.  You can also send them via pay palpresident@nnfn.net and please note these are for annual dues. The price has not changed from last year, $15 single, $20 family for one year.

If you’re interested in lifetime memberships please contact us.
The Unthinkable Happens
 
Not many weeks ago I very stupidly thought I had done a wizbang job of ferret  proofing. No free run when the dogs are in. Ferrets in their cage when friends or family are here, etc etc. Just can't be too careful said I.
 
When the weather turns cold, we shut off the outside water. This necessitates carrying water to the donkeys in 5 gallon buckets. Getting from the kitchen to the back door to the outside means going through the ferret room, as well as removing the barrier in the door that leads outside.
 
Rule number 1 is: Ferrets in the cage so they don't get stepped on, or a bucket full of water dropped on them, or zip out the door.
 
One Sunday my husband had just taken water out and was playing ball with the dogs in the back pasture area. I stopped at the kitchen window to watch the fun and games, only to see one of our ferrets, Parris, waddle along the edge of the back deck and start off through the yard. I dash through a back door that isn't shut all the way, grabbed her up, heart pounding.  Checked the cage, door is closed, with the two boys asleep in a pile. My husband had shut the cage door on what he thought were 3 sleeping ferrets.
 
The light color that was supposed to be Parris was only part of a light colored blanket. Mistake #1
 
Thinking the ferrets were safe and sound, he neglected to make certain the door shut all the way. Mistake #2
 
When I explained what had happened, the look on  his face told me I didn't need to scold, he felt bad enough just knowing how close we came to the unthinkable disaster.
 
This is hard to write about, admitting *my* ferret escaped so easily, when we are so *careful*. I now realize this can happen to anyone of us. 
 
I hope it never happens again. I do have a plan  of attack, just in case. If there ever is a next time, I may not be looking out the window at just the right moment. I may be out searching for a ferret gone missing.
 
Ardith
Do much online shopping?  If so, go to www.DonationTree.com, join as a new member (it’s free) and use their links to visit your favorite online stores.  As long as they are on the list, you can support the Biggest Little Ferret Shelter with every online purchase you make! The only catch is that you MUST do your shopping through the Donation Tree site to get the rebates.  Check it out. Donation Tree averages double the rebates that iGive does, but iGive has a few stores that Donation Tree does not (such as eBay). Check it out, it only takes a minute to join but the results will be worth it, after all, it's for the fuzzies, right? 
Rest assured all proceeds to go helping ferrets  J

Caring for a sick ferret can be scary, especially if you’ve never had to administer meds or and just don’t know what to expect.  Some of the things you should definitely do:

 

Keep your ferret comfortable and separated from other ferrets until the illness has passed.  Keep your ferret hydrated and make sure is eating enough to maintain weight. Extra love and attention never hurt any ferret.

 

Giving meds is tough, sometimes you have to scruff your ferret and quickly give them their syringe full of yucky meds.  They’ll be mad at first but they’ll forgive you. If you are mixing the meds be careful what you use, if your ferret has insulinoma you obviously don’t want to give them sugar. Please talk to your vet about ferret safe products to use.
Crossed to the Rainbow Bridge:  Spicy – 12 months old. Sweetest biter ever. Due to a misfortunate accident she left us too early.  We’ll miss you Spicy!
Along Came Polly:  Thumbs down!!! 
But the ferret was cute.  Incase you missed the awful things that were said about ferrets by Ben Stiller and Jennifer Anniston, it’s not too late to get a copy of Ben Stiller singing “Sorry is the hardest word to say” to a ferret!   You can get the tape for $2 from me, redferret4@yahoo.com for more info.

Bath Time

by Phyllis Elledge

 

Look at you kids!

You’re covered in mud!

I’ll go run your bath

And you can play in the tub.

 

Hey, come back here!

Don’t run away

You WILL have a bath

By the end of the day!

 

I don’t understand

Why you hate to be washed

I know you like water

So why all the fuss?

 

I’ve seen you all play

In puddles and sinks

I’ve seen you all snorkel

In bowls where you drink!

 

You help me wash dishes

You play with the bubbles.

You drink from the faucets

So what’s the trouble?

 

So go, run and hide

It won’t be for good

‘Cause you’ll be out soon

To get you some food.

 

I’ll be patiently waiting

Close to your dish

Then I’ll get you and bath you,

At least that’s my wish!!
Did you know?  If your ferret has a white haze over their eyes then that is a sign of cataracts? It can cause blindness, which doesn’t stop a fuzzy from living a happy life, they use their whiskers to feel the surrounding area and have an excellent memory of where everything is placed.
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.
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News!

Congratulations to Holly for being the winner of our logo contest!  She submitted many great ideas and made it extremely difficult to choose just one!


Thank you Holly, and I hope you like your free ferret… Lacy J

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Copyright © 2004 Northern Nevada Ferret Network