I was sitting at home and watching tv when the phone rang.  It was a friend of ours, Larry, who lived out in Riverview.  He had found a small albino ferret in bad shape out in the woods and wanted to know if I wanted it.  I told him to give me a few minutes and I would be there to get it.  Little did I know at the time that this would be the beginning of a rescue shelter for me.

      I got her home and I thought that she was extremely thin.  I had never had a ferret before and didn't even know what they ate, so we were off to the vet the very next day.  As luck would have it, the vet didn't know too much about ferrets either.  He had just one lady who came in with ferrets.  Me with my big mouth asked him if he knew what he was doing, and he was honest and said he didn't.  I told him that he was going to learn because he was going to be taking care of mine.  I had already named her Sunflower.

      Well, Sunflower was old, and being outside of a while had done its damage to her.  She lived about 4 months after I had gotten her, but she did have a nice life when she came to live with me.  After she died, I had to get another ferret, so I went to a pet store, not knowing about shelters.  I bought Buster and in a few weeks I had gotten Spaze from a lady that had kept him in a cage all the time next to her bed.  Then came Charlie and Spud, who came from the pound.  I was well on my way to being a shelter but I didn't call myself one.  Then I met Jeannie from Mutts, a dog care/ferret shelter.  We became friends and when she couldn't have the ferret shelter any more, I took over and she gave me all her cages and started sending them my way.  Well, let me tell you that I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

      It has been six years, a lot of ferrets have passed through, and some are still here because of age or illness.  There has been a lot of smiles, tears, and days not knowing how I would be able to keep the shelter open, but it has always worked out.

      At this time I have 31 ferrets in the shelter:  7 are personal, 7 are adoptable, and the rest are too old, sick, or have been here too long to be adopted or have been returned.  We have our good days and our bad ones, but overall I would do it all over again but it is a work of love.

      Educate yourself about the current issues concerning abandoned ferrets and other pets.  See our links page for some excellent sources of information on this and other related topics.

      If you're a new ferret owner, check out this information on ferret diet and health that can help you adjust to your new ferret.   Our store page has excellent items, including blankets, sleeping bags, carry bags, and other comfy necessities for your ferret.    

      Consider making a donation to our shelter to help cover the cost of our current residents' food and medication.