May 12th, 2012 Kallie & her friend Taylor came again today for a visit and to volunteer.They brought Bella for a playdate :) It was wonderful to see them again. Kallie continues to sponsor Beautiful, and today she began to sponsor Ben as well. (Thank you so much, Kallie!) Stantz was so happy to see Taylor again!! He dove into her arms, and when he was put back later, he lunged at the bars of the playpen, trying to get to her. Taylor is now sponsoring Stantz. (Thank you, Taylor!) These young women could have chosen many different ways to spend their Saturday--but they chose to be here, helping our sanctuary. I`m very impressed. A big thank you to Kallie`s parents for driving the girls over an hour to get here--and for pitching in, themselves, and volunteering! XOXOXO :) April 2, 2012 Kallie is a wonderful 14 year old who came for ferret education with her mom & dad, awhile back. We have emailed back & forth when she had questions, and the family has taken the hour+ drive to visit & volunteer several times. Kallie`s ferret Bella has come for several playdates, and we cared for Bella last week while the family went away over spring break. Go look what this sweet young lady did for us during her vacation. She snagged photos from our current website, our old website, and also posted some that I emailed her while she was away. I am so impressed <3 It is on youtube.com and it`s called called Zoos Ferret Sanctuary Tribute. (and look at all the pretty lupron coats!) Just wanted to share :) Love, Zoo ps--Beautiful (the champagne who was thrown out of a car on New Years Day & broke his pelvis) is in the picture with me wearing the outer space scrubs. Not only did he make it, he can dance now! Miracles happen. December 30, 2011 This year has brought many changes in our lives--and yet many things remain the same. The ferret sanctuary is still my main focus. We took in more ferrets than usual, this year. I am mommy to 121 sweet little souls who were abused, abandoned, neglected, sick, or had to be surrendered by their owner(s) because they had lost their jobs, apartments, or had their homes foreclosed. Some ferrets came because mom & dad were getting a divorce, moving, and the ferret(s) wouldn`t be allowed in the new place. It seems like kids & pets are so often the ones who suffer because mom & dad couldn`t make it work. We did our largest rescue ever, this year. A couple with 29 ferrets split up. Neither could afford the ferrets, and many of them were sick. We lost five shortly after they came to us :( The physical, emotional, and financial drain has been huge. We have been getting estimates to see if it will be possible to enlarge the sanctuary, and get more space for all of these additional furchildren to run & play. Our new Vice President, Garrett Nelson, moved in with us to help run the sanctuary, and he has been great. He`s young & strong, and has a great mind. I am teaching him all of the medical stuff, and he is already fully able to give meds to all 25 ferrets who need them twice a day! He`s becoming good at troubleshooting and emergency care. Hands-on is the best way to learn. He can give injections & subQ fluids, has learned how to treat an insulinoma crash, express a bladder, and already recognizes some of the heart & lung sounds, etc. He has run several to the vet for us. This is an unbelievable weight, lifted off of my shoulders. If anything happens to me, Garrett knows who is who, and how to care for them. He has been very good for Kurt & me--a blessing. He does little things around the house to help like getting the heavy garbage cans to the street, running occasional errands, and even helping with laundry sometimes. He`s good with computer issues too! This year, our sanctuary became a permanent worksite with DeKalb County. They are sending community service workers to help with some of the sanctuary duties. I am still ferret-sitting for ferret friends who go on vacation, business trips, or are in between homes themselves, and need a safe place to keep their babies for awhile. Often someone can`t afford a vet, and the ferret comes here to get well. Sometimes the ferret comes here to die in peace. I find that this mission is about much more than just ferrets. Lives touch for a reason--and nothing is just by chance...I feel that this is what God has called me to do. I have made some wonderful friends this year. We did not go on the Ferret Giving Tree, again this year. I did not have the time to snap cute little pictures & do darling write-ups. (If you think it`s work cleaning up after three or four animals, try (properly!) caring for 121 ferrets, most of which are older, with health or behavior issues! LOL) Still, there were wonderful people who sent the fuzzies gifts from the heart. The Crafty Weasels of Georgia sent two more huge boxes of their wonderful bedding, when they heard about the rescue of the 29. Fran Brown (Ferrets Are Love) sent a box of bedding, all Christmas gift-wrapped, and an anonymous person from CarpetSharksInk sent a pile of hammies they had hired Fran to make. Millie Sanders sent a gazillion little ferret beds. (Ours were threadbare!!) Brenda Steelman (Furpeople Weyr) sent a huge box of goodies to the ferrets (including some bedding she had lovingly crafted)--and there were even some things in there for ME! Tara Radford, Kim Lloyd, Nancy Mendiburu, Renee Downs, Lisette, Diane Iverson, Allstate Giving Campaign, Nanette Thurber, Ruth Craig, Sandy Repper, DeAnn McCord, and a slew of other ferret friends sent everything from sweet cards, to Christmas ornaments, to Walmart gift cards, to checks for the fuzzies. (and I`m sure I haven`t listed everyone yet--please forgive me.) We were in the 2011 Ferrets USA Magazine (pictures & all!) this year on pages 84, 85 , and 86. Audrey Pavia wrote a beautiful article about some of the people in the ferret community :) We wish everyone a wonderful 2012! Love, Zoo July 20, 2011 We are in the paper today! Doug oleson did a fabulous article on our sanctuary. (Thanks, Doug!) Here is the link. It should be good for the week, I think. JULY 18, 2011 We had visitors from France last week! Our friend Laurence (from France) brought her niece Laurie, and her nephew Nate, to visit the sanctuary and learn about ferrets. With Laurence as interpreter, the young adults heard many stories about how some of the ferrets came to live at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary. They played on the floor with some of the healthy ones, and saw me care for many of the ones on the meds wall. They learned how to tell a boy from a girl, what the most common ferret ailments are, what the life expectancy of a ferret is, the importance of proper diet, and many common dangers to ferrets, etc. We also discussed the topic most dear to my heart. Commitment. I am trying to post some wonderful pictures I got of our visitors, but they aren`t coming up. Soon, I hope. Love, Zoo MARCH 28, 2011 We were honored to have shelter mom Shannon Speer (Ferret Dreamers Rescue Haven) from Texas, and Debby Osburn (Vice President of SAFE Ferret Rescue) as our guests last week! I believe they drove about 18 hours to get here! Shannon & Debby got to meet our furkids, as well as the furchildren we are babysitting for other families during Spring break. It was fun showing them how things work, here at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary--and we enjoyed comparing notes, & sharing stories. We did get out for a quick lunch on two of the days, as both ladies had birthdays during the trip! (and Kurt made his famous four layer cake with mocha rum frosting!!!) We were having so much fun that I got them to extend their visit a bit! We are on the phone with many shelter moms & dads, all over the U.S. and it is always so great when we can meet some of them, and put faces with the names. Because we have so many older ferrets with health issues, I am unable to get away, so people come here :) A special thank you to Shannon & Debby`s hubbys who kept things running smoothly while the girls were gone. We had such a wonderful time. (Shannon & Debby--I hope we can do this again!) Love, Zoo ****** We were honored to have Florence Love (of Crafty Weasels of Georgia) as our guest, over the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday! She got to visit our sanctuary, meet our furkids, and share food, friendship, & fun. The time just flew ! The Crafty Weasels sent us a wonderful box of bedding, some time ago, and it has held up beautifully through repeated washings. This sewing group works hard to comfort shelter ferrets everywhere with warm, cute, cozy bedding--at no cost to the shelters. It is a wonderful thing they are doing. (The ferrets especially love their pocket hammies!) It was great to meet Florence face to face, & we have found a very special friend in her . Florence, there will always be a futon here for you. I hope you can make it back this way again soon! Much love, Zoo July 6, 2010 Yesterday, Kurt & I drove 8 hours to meet the son of Sandi`s financial planner & his girlfriend. They were carrying precious cargo---Sandi`s seven babies. They came in separate vehicles, & returned to Texas in one. We arrived in one vehicle & returned to Illinois in two. Sandi left me her beautiful van. There was plenty of room for all three cages in the back, and Sandi`s kids traveled in cool, elegant comfort. The van is so beautiful. Mint condition. There aren`t even 18,000 miles on it. What a wonderful gift of love... The longest I have been away from the house, in 12 years, was when our daughter got married. (That was almost 10 hours, in all.) For my hubby, who drives a semi, the trip was a piece of cake--but I am not used to driving like that, and not used to leaving our little furchildren. (16 hours on the road in one day!!!) Top that off with losing a dear friend, & I am pretty well spent today! We are so grateful to Brandee & Ellen, who came on short notice, & scooped boxes, changed out cages, and gave meds, as I talked them through it by phone. (We have so many on meds!) When we arrived home at 2 a.m. with Sandi`s babies, Brandee & Ellen had the quarantine room all sparkling & ready. We talked awhile, then they crashed on the futons in the living room with Brandee`s other two children. We are all just beat. I`m just so glad that Sandi`s little ones are all safely here now--and I realize it was more like TWO years ago that she first asked me to take her babies in, if something ever happened to her. Gosh, how time flies. I miss her more than I can say. We were close friends, and always there for one another. She believed in me, and in what we do here. She trusted us to care for her beloved furchildren for the rest of their lives. Because of Sandi`s generosity & love, we have been so richly blessed. More later. Love, Zoo July 3, 2010 Our good friend Sandi Browning has been very ill. She was hospitalized, two days ago. She coded that night. Her blood pressure was scarey low, and there were other serious complications. Despite all efforts, she died, early this morning. About a year ago, she asked us to please take her seven babies, if anything ever happened to her. I promised her we would love them until the end of their days. It`s time for us to make good on that promise now. So Sandi`s sweet little orphans will be coming all the way from Texas to join our family here at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary. June 5th, 2010 This has been such a great week! Our friend DeAnn has been here from Arizona, to visit our sanctuary for the third time. As always, there was lots to talk about, & as always, she helped immensely in the ferret room. We enjoyed friendship, food, & ferrets! My ankle was acting up, during this visit. DeAnn pretty much took over my duties, while I just sat! She busted her fanny!!! She stripped & dressed cages, did litterpans, washed & filled food & water dishes & bottles, ran playgroups, cleaned up "accidents," helped with meds--the whole 9 yards. I got a chance to mend. Bless her heart. This girl has a very sharp mind. The first time she came to visit, she had memorized all (at that time!) 56 ferrets` names in only 48 hours!!! This visit, she still remembered most of the names, & learned the new ones in record time. (At the time of this visit, there were 74 here!) On top of all the wonderful companionship & the help, she left behind a HUGE donation! Part of this was used to replace the ferrets` wall air conditioner. The unit`s fan blade had seized. We have central air for them, but due to the solar gain in that room, it often can`t keep up. Ferrets are prone to heat stroke, and are best kept in temperatures at or below 70 degrees. We have so many oldsters here, who will now be less stressed--and ALL will be more comfortable!!! DeAnn, we are so grateful!!! (Thank you!) Love, Zoo May 31, 2010 It has been a great month, but the highlight, this time, was having our friends Kris, Diane, and Alicia come for a visit! We had food on the grill, lots of fun conversation, and plenty of "fuzzy" time, playing on the floor! It was so great to catch up. They all try to come a couple of times a year, but it`s a long drive (8-9 hours) for Kris & Alicia, and Diane is driving from Markeson, Wisconsin. (Heaven knows I sure can`t get away!!!) What fun we had!!! (and all three of them left donations for the ferrets too!) God bless you, ladies!!! April 23, 2010 We were honored to have Michelle, sales rep with Owen Mumford, as our guest today! We took her on a tour of our sanctuary, & introduced her to many of the furchildren living here at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary. For those of you that don`t know, Owen Mumford makes some of the best lancets ever. Pretty much painless! Testing the ferrets` blood glucose just became a bit easier here--and I have switched to them to test myself, as well! You might say Michelle & I educated each OTHER today LOL. She is a beautiful & delightful person! UPDATE: April 4, 2010  This is Ellen. She & her mom have spent a lot of hours volunteering at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary, these past several weeks. They were here again today (Easter Sunday!) They realize that ferrets don`t stop needing food & water, just because it`s a holiday. Ferrets don`t stop pooing, just because it`s Easter. They know that the ferrets need to get out to play too! So they came to help.  which are now hanging on our refrigerator. It was a great afternoon! Bullitt (kissing Ellen) was happy too! ********** UPDATE: April 3, 2010 Our cemetery has gotten to be very large, over the past twelve years. Weeding it has become quite a task, as well as straightening out all the memorial markers each Spring , after the frost heave. For each ferret we accept into our family, we know that eventually, this day will come. It has become increasingly more difficult, emotionally & physically, to dig more & more little graves, when our furchildren l eave us. A while back, we made the decision t o cremate the little ones we would lose in the future. Today we met Denise Hoopes, at Pets At Peace Crematory, in Hampshire, Il. This was our first cremation. We weren`t sure what to expect, but we could not have asked for a kinder, more compassionate soul. She was so comforting. Denise gave our sanctuary a substantial price break, and explained that she gives a break to anyone dealing directly through the crematory. In this economy, that`s a really good thing. When the need arises again, we will go back to Denise. She was very good to us--and our babies were treated with r espect & dignity. A link to her website can be found on our Online resources page. I must tell you that even though I know they aren`t "in there" really--I am very comforted, just holding the physical container of their ashes. |
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