shelter website: www.theferretcubby.petfinder.com
Ferrets came into my life in 1984. While on my honeymoon, we went into a pet store in Reno, Nevada and there she was! The cuties little “stinker” I had ever seen! And I do mean stinker she was “Intact”. She came home with us and I learned how wonderful ferrets are!!! In the Spring of 2003, while on a trip in Nevada, we saw this vehicle with the license plate “Ferrets”, my kids were egging me on to follow it, so we followed it home and that is how I met my first ferret shelter operator. Linda has been a good friend ever since! Round about mid 2004, I started to become know as the ferret lady and ferrets began to show up at my door. I wanted to start a shelter, but had only been to one, so I wanted more information, so I planned a trip to Boise and paid a visit to the Emmett Ferret Shelter. I was very impressed with Bill & Laura’s shelter and began to think I could do this. Both of my shelter friends said we needed a shelter in Utah and encouraged me to see what was required to get started here. After the loss of my beloved ferret, Mitch, I realized there was really no one who knew anything about ferrets in this neck of the woods and I wanted to help the ferrets in Northern Utah, so sheltering was a natural with the wonderful contacts I had made with other shelters. That’s how the Ferret Cubby Shelter/Rescue came about in 2005. My shelter Friends have been a huge resource for me on ferret knowledge and one of my vet techs used to run a ferret shelter in Texas! I have joined the Pacific Ferret Shelter Network and it is another wonderful resource! Ferret people are the best!!!
We are a No-Kill shelter. We have an average of 17 ferrets, but have gotten as high as 34! I have three wonderful volunteers, one was know as the ferret lady until I came onto the scene and the other two are vet techs who love ferrets and they all are a big help to me. We have had a few more new volunteers this year and we sure appreciate each and every one of our volunteers!!! I have a few wonderful Foster Parents who take in my terminal fur kids and give them the best quality of life. That frees up space in the shelter for more fur kids in need and they can’t get better care than in their own home environment.
Let me tell you about Ranger, he was a hard case. He came into the shelter and did quite well the first two weeks, but when he found out there were other ferrets here, he became depressed and was having health issues. We had him in and out of the vet, but he was not getting better. Then we got in this beautiful cinnamon girl named Token. She was frightened, and very fearful. I felt like they needed each other. As soon as Token was out of quarantine, they met and they hit it right off! Ranger came out of his depression and Token was no longer afraid! They were adopted together to a wonderful couple who spoil them completely! Ranger is very special to me, I had to work very hard to keep him alive during his depression and it has been such a joy to see him thrive with his new family!!!
One of the things I really want people to know is how important it is to the shelters to have volunteers, even if you can only come in once a month and help. For those of you who do not have time, but can donate to the shelter’s operations, we need you too! We need the obvious things like cleaning cages and the playroom, feeding, watering, laundry, bathing the ferrets, playing with the ferrets, but also other things like help with the bookeeping, adoption and vet paperwork, website updates, 501 c 3 paperwork expertise, people who know how to do fundraisers and much more. Our volunteers are the life blood of our shelter!!! I do most of the everyday things myself, but when I am sick or we have a big project, I have dependable help! That is very important! My volunteers go to Petsmart with me 1-2 times a month and it takes 2-4 of us to handle all the questions we get! It is great PR for the ferrets and the shelter too!
I love being a shelter operator!!! Ok, yes there are days that I ask myself “What are you doing”???? Are you crazy??? But they are few and far between. When I pick up one of my fur kids that is recovering from surgery and they kiss my face, I know why I do what I do. I don’t get paid in cash for my hard work, I get paid in ferret kisses, snuggles and dooks! It is a tough, but rewarding adventure!