shelter website: www.oregonferretshelter.org
Our first ferret came into our home when our 14 year old son wanted one. We told him to earn the money for the ferret and supplies and we would allow him to purchase one. He got right on the ball and within 3 hours we were at the petstore picking up Buddy. He became the love of not only my son, Sean’s life, but I couldn’t believe what a remarkable pet he made. I got caught spending too much time with him and was told to get my own ferret. So, I called the local humane society and they pointed me in the direction of the local rescue. The conditions were terrible and she had over 200 ferrets in an 8×10 room. I had a choice to call the authorities or roll up my sleeves and lend a helping hand and glean all her wonderful knowledge. I chose the later. She passed on 3 years later leaving us with 200+ ferrets to find homes for. So the fun began. That was in 1985. Yes, our love of ferrets was well established at this point. It is still an ongoing thing!
I remember a time when we got one of those rare vacations away. We had found a wonderful couple to house sit for us. We were gone for 5 quiet days. When we got back I started answering phone messages and was horrified to get a call from the Animal Control that they had an injured ferret they were seeking a placement for. I returned the call with trembling fingers as I was sure the person on the other line would tell me they had euthanized the ferret due to not being able to get a hold of us. But too my surprise, someone had actually taken her down to the Dove Lewis Emergency Clinic and got her taken care of. “Buttons” came home that day. She had been in a dog fight and had lost her ear and eye and been bitten quite a few times. She turned out to be quite a fighter and healed up nicely. She was adopted at our next ferret meeting. In fact, our club members were fighting over her!
The challenges of sheltering are simple, not enough time in the day for yourself, not enough money so you are constantly soliciting funding and volunteers. It is expensive to run a shelter and take care of the animals correctly. You need to realize you have to open your doors to those that want to help. Education to the public is never ending!
The fulfillment of helping those that are victims of ignorance is very fulfilling. Being able to help people understand about these wonderful animals and get rid of the myths is rewarding.
Our first ferret came into our home when our 14 year old son wanted one. We told him to earn the money for the ferret and supplies and we would allow him to purchase one. He got right on the ball and within 3 hours we were at the petstore picking up Buddy. He became the love of not only my son, Sean’s life, but I couldn’t believe what a remarkable pet he made. I got caught spending too much time with him and was told to get my own ferret. So, I called the local humane society and they pointed me in the direction of the local rescue. The conditions were terrible and she had over 200 ferrets in an 8×10 room. I had a choice to call the authorities or roll up my sleeves and lend a helping hand and glean all her wonderful knowledge. I chose the later. She passed on 3 years later leaving us with 200+ ferrets to find homes for. So the fun began. That was in 1985. Yes, our love of ferrets was well established at this point. It is still an ongoing thing!
I remember a time when we got one of those rare vacations away. We had found a wonderful couple to house sit for us. We were gone for 5 quiet days. When we got back I started answering phone messages and was horrified to get a call from the Animal Control that they had an injured ferret they were seeking a placement for. I returned the call with trembling fingers as I was sure the person on the other line would tell me they had euthanized the ferret due to not being able to get a hold of us. But too my surprise, someone had actually taken her down to the Dove Lewis Emergency Clinic and got her taken care of. “Buttons” came home that day. She had been in a dog fight and had lost her ear and eye and been bitten quite a few times. She turned out to be quite a fighter and healed up nicely. She was adopted at our next ferret meeting. In fact, our club members were fighting over her!
The challenges of sheltering are simple, not enough time in the day for yourself, not enough money so you are constantly soliciting funding and volunteers. It is expensive to run a shelter and take care of the animals correctly. You need to realize you have to open your doors to those that want to help. Education to the public is never ending!
The fulfillment of helping those that are victims of ignorance is very fulfilling. Being able to help people understand about these wonderful animals and get rid of the myths is rewarding.
