shelter website: www.laneferrets.org
Petfinder listing: laneferrets.petfinder.org
I saw my first ferret when I was 16 years old. My mother said there was no way I could have one then, but when I had my own place I could have whatever pets I wanted. Mom died in October 1993; I was very depressed, so I thought I should get a pet to help me ease my depression. I’m allergic to cats and we lived in an apartment, so I didn’t want to get a dog, so I thought I would finally get a ferret. I saw a ferret advertised in the paper, and asked my husband if we could get it. He said we could go LOOK at it, but didn’t want to commit to buying one. Well, my husband fell in love with Bosley the minute he saw him, so that’s where it all started. Bosley was about 1 year old when we purchased him. I purchased an eight week old ferret from a pet store next, BooBoo. In September 1994, we decided to move from Juneau, Alaska to Oregon. Of course, we brought our two ferrets with us. In February 1995, I put an ad in the Eugene RegisterGuard newspaper inviting anyone who owned ferrets to meet at my house to meet other ferret lovers. We had 29 ferrets come with their 15 humans. Shortly thereafter, one of the couples who attended that first meeting said they would be interested in starting a shelter, so that’s when Lane Area Ferret Lovers Ferret Shelter (as it was called then) was born!
About a year later, the couple had to move and could not take the shelter with them, so at that time, I took it over. In 1997, I had to move back to Juneau for my husband’s job, so the shelter went to another woman’s house, Lucy Robiataille. Lucy did the sheltering for five years. In 2002, I moved back to Eugene, Oregon. Lucy was getting burned out, so I decided that I would take over the shelter and that’s how it is today.
There were no ferret shelters in Southern Oregon; the only one was (is) in Oregon City in Northern Oregon. I was told that the local humane society euthanized ferrets if they ever got any in, so I decided that I would start a shelter to save any poor ferrets that were taken to the humane society. The humane society agreed that they would refer anyone with a ferret to give up to us.
Every once in a while an extra-special ferret comes in. We had a stray come in who looked like someone had taken a pair of scissors and cut the tops of his ears off; it didn’t look like a birth defect, it looked like it was purposefully done. He has since gone to a wonderful home.
The biggest challenge that I have is getting and keeping volunteers to help. Lots of people enjoy playing with the ferrets, but not so many like to help with the upkeep and care.
The positive part about sheltering: saving lives; I have had ferrets come into the shelter at death’s door — obviously poorly cared for and I have saved them. It’s good to know that I have made a difference in a ferret’s life.