There is a multi-faceted reason for the change in venue at Ferretwise- I will attempt to explain for everyone.

We are :
1) out of room!
The number of behaviorally challenged, abuse cases and medically needy animals has filled to overfilled our cage space. So much that we have hospice ferrets in 3 outside locations. In the largest hospice center away from the shelter 14 ferrets reside in addition to personal ferrets of the household. The number there is 29. This is the loving St Gregory's house where the pet cemetery holds Bear & Rocky FerretWise, Pasteur of the Egg City Harbor NJ rescue and many many more. It is hospice Mom Judy who suffered an incapacitating stroke 8 months ago-- and though she is better- she has not fully recovered and will shortly be having surgery. At that same location her husband was recently diagnosed with systemic advanced myastinya gravis. A devastating disease. He undergoes regular treatments of plasma foresis (sp?)... and will soon be taking an immuno suppressive drug. As anyone who is familiar with cancer treatment knows.. on immuno suppressive drugs and living in a building full of animals could be devastating. These circumstances make us realize on any given day we may need to move the 29 ferrets at St Gregory's House into the facility at Ferret Wise. It is already full- we cannot possibly take any new faces in when the responsibility for so many others before is evident. Judy lives for her ferrets- and does not WANT them to move. We understand that -- but we also must be prepared IN CASE it is necessary.

2) In addition, Ferret Wise, until a few years ago, supported itself 85% on sewn bedding items it made & marketed. There have been so many new unoffical rescues which adopted our method of fund raising we find ourselves only supporting about 25% or our huge annual budget which exceeds $20,000.00 annually... to feed, litter, provide sanitation services, vet care, mailings, newsletters, etc. When we lose money travelling to shows to vend our wares and when ebay fees exceed the profits-- it is time to realign and figure out what we can do to continue the care that is needed.

I could go on and on about my personal feelings of unofficial rescuers competing with licensed shelter operations which struggle each day to meet obligations of licensing, tax applications & filings, etc. But that is neither here nor there. The recent post on list did force me to reveal the recent results of the board - mainly that we are spreading ourselves so thin at Ferret Wise in the current balance to provide hospice, rehab, education, etc. that something had to change. The shelter intake was what needed to change immediately.

It is the INTENT that Ferret Wise WILL continue. Many of our hospice kids are only 4 years old... they have a ways to go even with medical conditions before their time is up. We need to survive and we know it WON'T necessarily be an easy road.

THE MISSION MUST CHANGE slightly. The GREATEST NEED is in EDUCATION. The education may indeed save ferrets from ever needing a shelter facility-- and all of us familiar with US shelters know they are overburdened. It is necessary at this juncture to take a different path- so that we MAY continue to help ferrets through legislative efforts, through humane education, through cruelty protection, consultations with humane investigators, and through general education efforts. There we can help thousands of ferrets where annually we can help only 80-90 per year.

Please consider continued support of Ferret Wise as we gear into continued hospice care and expanded education services for ferrets everywhere. It won't be an easy change- and it will not happen overnight-- the Spring rains before we see the flowers blossom and we look to this growth period as a positive one rather than a sad ending.

Our kids continue to thank you- as do the folks at Ferret Wise. Please join us Sept 11th for Ferretstock V as we enjoy the ferrets and earn funds for continued programs!

Alicia
www.ferretwise.org