Sanctuary News

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Except for Rainbow Bridge entries, the website has not been updated for quite awhile. Our numbers have remained high, even considering those babies we have lost. 

We have been blessed with two dependable helpers who get down & take care of the dirty work like no one else.

Our wonderful  new Vice President Sue is here at least three times a week, helping us to care for our little ones. She is a Godsend! She loves the ferrets with all her heart, and is not afraid of hard work. 

Our good friend Leslie is here a couple of times a week to help us too. Leslie has been here for the long haul. She can do more work in an hour than most people can crank out in three! We are so grateful <3

We`ve also been blessed with several community service workers, during the past year. Two especially stand out. Pedro sets the Gold Standard as a worker. He`s willing to do the job, and do it right :) We are also very thankful for Andi, who has taken a load off of my shoulders for weeks now.

These people have repeatedly shown their love,  kindness, and support. (Thanks, guys!)

                                                    More later,

                                                     Love, Zoo

JANUARY 23, 2013

Our website has sat, virtually untouched, for well over a year now. We have been very busy caring for well over 100 ferrets--many with health & behavioral issues. Many elderly ones. It has been quite time-consuming. At one point, there were over 130 furchildren here. Each one needs clean housing, fresh food & water, and time out of the cage to play. Thankfully, many of them get along well together--otherwise, it would be impossible.

I will attempt to update this website, one day at a time, until we get there. I feel badly that so many never even got to be on the site. Some babies came in terminal, and we never even got pictures of them :( 

Maybe we can manage one a day, until we`re up to speed. 

Going to try...

                                  Love, Zoo 

December 30th, 2012

I have just received one of the best gifts of my life. Our young volunteer Kallie, her brother Matt, and their friend Lauren made a wonderful memorial video for us, and posted it on Youtube. They did this during their Christmas break. It is dedicated to all of the babies at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary who are no longer with us. Some of the pictures are really old. They`re from our first website (YEARS ago) which is still floating around out there in cyberspace.

I have played this video in my head for a long time--but couldn`t create it, because I am old, and not computer-savvy. I asked Kallie if she was up to the challenge of making another slide show, and she agreed to do it. I shared with her exactly what I saw in my mind.  She & her team did an excellent job of bringing it to life. 

The  Youtube video is titled Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary Rainbow Bridge. 

Thank you, Kallie, Lauren, and Matt for helping me to honor our little furchildren.

It`s exactly the way I envisioned it. Bless you.

                                             Love, Zoo

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.

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.

http://www.midweeknews.com/articles/2011/07/19/72884752/

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.

 Both Ellen & her sister had made some very special Easter cards,

 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 leave us. 

A while back, we made the decision to 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  respect & 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. I do feel more at peace, somehow...

                                       **********

UPDATE: March 28, 2010

March has been quite a month! We have made many new friends,

and have been visited by several long-time ones too.

One Saturday, Auntie Lisette came from Northbrook for 

a visit. We had a riot, playing on the floor all day with furkids! It

was fun sharing food, friendship, & ferrets. But then, it is ALWAYS

fun when Lisette comes for a visit!

The next Saturday, Diane Calhoun (a breeder) came from Indiana

to meet us, and spend the day with us. We really enjoyed sharing

stories & information with each other. Of course, there were many

hours  spent on the floor THAT day, chatting, & playing with ferrets

 too!

 It was very interesting when she looked over the two late alters

 we were babysitting. I had no clue what the judges look for in

 ferrets at the shows. We aren`t too familiar with all the fancy

 markings. Apparently, we were babysitting a show

 quality ferret!!! (The other one is  beautiful too--an eight year old

 sable boy.) The whole experience was fascinating. I learned a lot,

 and we`re happy to have a new friend in Diane. 

The following day, Bonnie Russell, the secretary of The

Ferret Inn in Maryland came to visit us. We had an incredible time! 

It`s always fun to compare notes with other shelters, and nice to

be able to put faces with the names of people you email with. (Did I

mention that we spent some time on the floor, playing with 

ferrets? LOL)

On the 27th, (yesterday) we were honored to once again, have

guests from the GCFA (Greater Chicago Ferret Association.) Their

shelter is 79 miles from ours, and the closest other major ferret

shelter in the area.  We had a great day sharing stories and food,

and playing on the floor with ferrets. (It`s weird, the way we love

to do that!!!) Like I have said, many times before--there is nothing

better than friends who share your passion.

                                     **********

UPDATE: January 30, 2010

Here are some Christmas `09 pictures :)

We`re about a month late doing this, as we`re still

getting our new site up to speed (and we`re so busy

with our little ones!) If any later gifts arrive, we will

add them to this list. (Thank you!)

Thanks so much to our santas & sponsors:

Aunt Lisette Lumsden

Uncle Gregg Karagas

Aunt Andrea Rose

Aunt Fran Brown

Aunt Cynde Stone

Aunt Pat Shaskin

Aunt Melissa Brown

Aunt Sue Eisert

Aunt DeAnn McCord

Aunt Rose German

Aunt Kimmie Lloyd

Aunt Libby Nelson

Aunt Heather Pittman

Aunt Sharon Edwards

Aunt April from Totally Ferret

Aunt Shannon Snavely

Aunt Becky Henry

Aunt Debbie & Uncle Ben Rock

Aunt Judy Nelson

Aunt Leslie Young

Aunt Brenda Steelman

Uncle Joe & Aunt Missy Starkey

Aunt Bernadette Keith & mom Betty

***************************

UPDATE: December 30, 2009

Our website has sat for nearly a year now, Pretty much

unchanged...We are not computer savvy, and the old

 site was difficult for us to understand & update.

We will be working on this new Google site now--and

 it`s FREE!!!!!  We are grateful to to Dara DiBenedetto,

 our friend & supporter, who drew our attention to this

 site, & helped us to get out of the rut!

My dear husband Kurt (who can figure out ANYTHING!)

 has been working hard, transferring pages over, &

 inserting pictures. (Good job, Sweetheart!!!)

I am learning how to add text, so I can post about the

new ones, and add our losses to the Rainbow Bridge

page. We have almost a year of catching up to do, but

Soon, we should be good as new!

*******************************************

UPDATE: March 28th, 2009:

Today, we were honored to have guests from the GCFA!

Bob & Dara DiBenedetto introduced us to Steve, the new

director ofthe GCFA, and the GCFA`s web designer,

 Seth. They all came for lunch, and to visit our sanctuary.

 We shared food & stories, and played with fuzzies all

 afternoon! As usual, when anyone  comes to

 visit, the time just flew. We traded lots of stories &

 ideas. It`s always fun to compare notes when other

 shelter people come. (And like I`ve said before, there`s

 nothing so great as being with others who share your

 passion!) It was a wonderful afternoon.

Steve & Seth are going to be good for the GCFA. They

 have fresh, new  (excellent!) ideas, and the

 determination to follow through on them. Most-

importantly, they have a love of ferrets, and  the desire

 to do right by them. These handsome young men will be

 a blessing to the ferret community. 

I hope they come back soon! 

More later.

                             Love, Zoo

UPDATE: March 24th, 2009:

Our good friend and web designer Marta is currently unable to help

 us with the website. We are not as experienced & knowledgeable

 as Marta, but we will attempt to keep the website updated until her

 situation improves. Marta, huge hugs to you <3 <3 <3

                                    Much love, Zoo

Update: January 7th, 2009

We were very honored to have Shirley Hewett as our guest today!

We got a call from Bill Gruber of the FML, saying Shirley would be flying into Chicago in a few days, and would we like a visitor.

I was doing the happy dance. (To me, Bill Gruber is a celebrity--a HERO--I think so much of him--and he CALLED us!!!!) THEN--we were going to get to meet Shirley Hewett???(ANOTHER celebrity!) I was so excited!!! I didn`t get to go to the ferret symposium, where she was a guest speaker. Couldn`t leave the furkids. But NOW, I was going to get to meet her--and she was coming to visit our sanctuary & meet our furkids!

WOW. The afternoon & evening passed so quickly. Shirley met our kids, ate with us, and shared some new & different ideas about natural housing & feeding etc. I am so happy to have her as a friend. She is an amazing woman. We chattered like magpies, & had a wonderful time together. She is intelligent, witty, well-educated, and fun. ( I love her accent!) We have never had a guest from Australia before LOL.

I hope she comes back, someday. We really enjoyed her company.

More later.

Love, Zoo

Update: December 30th, 2008

I have not taken the time to send Christmas cards or gifts to ANYONE.

We have had a very rough month. A mystery illness has hit our room. It mocked symptoms of ECE--nasty diarrhea, ranging in color from mint green to olive green, & even black-ish. Fecal tests were negative.

The furkids became severely dehydrated, and difficult to rehydrate. When we picked them up, they felt stiff & hard, like little blocks of wood. Some ate willingly, some did not.

In 10 1/2 years of running this sanctuary, I have never seen such severe dehydration. In 3-9 hours, they became so sunken, despite massive fluids being given, that they were almost unrecognizeable. They looked like shrink-wrapped fur over bones, and their eyes were sunken back into their heads. Death for some,was following in several hours, to a few days.It was a nightmare. They looked like something out of a sci fi movie.

We were treating symptoms with subcutaneous fluids, around the clock feedings, amoxi drops, carafate, pepcid suspension,B Complex injections. and pet tinic. Dr. Katie began to do some bloodwork, & sent home metronidazole, and we tried it on some of them.

In spite of all efforts, 21 became severely ill. Bloodwork in the ones tested showed high hematocrit(severe dehydration) and kidney failure. A few showed low blood glucose. Other than that, there was nothing remarkable.

In 3 1/2 weeks, we lost 10 of our furkids to this illness. One day we lost three of our kids, within hours. On December 10th, we added Essiac to our treatment, and then gave it to everyone in the room, hoping it would boost the immune system. There were no more cases after December 16th, and the remaining 11 sick ferrets slowly recovered--including Bear Bear & Ruckus, whose bloodwork had shown kidney failure!

Dr. Heller, a ferret vet /owner/and breeder in Murraysville, PA, saw much the same thing at her place. We emailed back & forth, & spoke on the phone a couple of times, comparing symptoms. She sent out tissue samples, and it was discovered that the illness was NOT a mutation of the ECE virus. She had begun using tamiflu on hers, and it appeared to be working.

The secret seemed to be two pronged, in my opinion. Keep them alive long enough for the immune system to work--and BOOST that immune system. Although Essiac can have diuretic effects, I chose to use it because of the many GOOD benefits, including the calming effects of the slippery elm bark on the tummy, and the help with the immune system it appears to have. Either the illness was a virus that just ran its course, or the Essiac did boost everyone`s immune system, because the sick ones receiving it recovered--and no one else GOT sick...

In addition to the 10 we lost to the illness, we lost Mallory. She was somewhere between seven & eight years old, adrenal & insulinomic with cancer. She ate a nice meal, cuddled down in her bag, & died in her sleep.

We lost Laurel. The tumor on her head began to cause her pain :(

We lost Tanner. He got a flaming bladder infection that no meds would touch.

We lost Tuffy (Lisette`s heart patient) Tuffy needed around the clock care, and got four more good months with us. It`s all but impossible to give around the clock care when one works long hours like Lisette does.

Then, on Christmas day, we went to our daughter`s for dinner.( It was the first time I`d left the house in weeks.) We returned to find Jack dead in his cage. It appeared to have been a heart attack, or massive stroke, due to the position he was in. Jack was with us for over six years. I think he was around two when he joined us. His death was a total shock. He hadn`t even been sick.

So, after 15 losses in the last month, we are hoping for a better new year. Our remaining 58 babies are doing well.

More later.

Love, Zoo

Update: November 8th, 2008

Our sanctuary had a visitor from Ethiopia for two weeks!!

Nell Angelo`s email that morning (October 23) read "Recognizing me at the airport" "I will be wearing some fairly bright blue boots, and perhaps a jacket to match" (Nothing about height, weight, age, or hair color etc.---just bright blue BOOTS????) I told my husband "Oboy. This woman is going to be with us for two weeks. We`re in trouble." Strangely enough, it worked though. We spotted her right away!!!

Ethiopia is way behind the U.S. in the area of veterinary care. Nell

wanted to learn all she could about ferret illnesses, & how to counter some of them. We are not vets here, but we have a broad base of experience, and are willing to share what we have learned, & what has worked for us.

During her visit here, Nell observed a ferret crash & revival, listened to some heart & lung sounds, learned how to recognize several ferret maladies, learned how to do a blood glucose test and a fecal test, learned a better way to syringe feed, and an easier way to do subQ fluids. She scooped some litterpans, met two former owners who returned to visit the babies they had surrendered to Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary, witnessed the surrender of a little heart patient, and met a family we counseled.She learned how to divide a syringe of lupron into individual doses, how to mix it, & how to administer it. She has already seen the effects of this wonder drug by observing our 21 who have been helped by it. She learned how to mix meds to treat ear mites and heartworm too--and whatever else we could think of to teach her.

Prior to this trip, I think Nell believed that adrenal disease and

insulinoma were "the kiss of death"--but now she has seen ferrets with

these conditions, being medically managed, running & playing happily,

all over the room.. She has seen lymphoma babies ducking in & out of

tunnels--and ones with inoperable masses who act as normally as any of

the others. She is learning what to look for, & ways to keep them

comfortable.

From here, she traveled to the ferret symposium in Pittsburgh PA.

Nell lives a bit on the wild side, but she is a wonderful person, and a lot of fun. We enjoyed having her as our guest..

More later.

Love,

Zoo

UPDATE: November 6th, 2008

We just participated in the Indiana rescue. 16 ferrets had to be removed from a house that was going through foreclosure. The ferrets had to be out of there by Oct. 7th. If the shelters didn`t step forward, the animals would be euthanized.

The guy didn`t know their names. They weren`t up to date on vacs. They had no litter pans. All 16 were very thin. The ferrets had to walk through five inch deep excrement to get to their (mostly empty!) food & water dishes.The guy took them out of the cage once a month & hosed it out!!! The place reeked so badly it would have gagged a maggot. They were covered in feces & urine burns. All had fleas & ear mites. Poor things. Disgusting.

All 16 got along well--and no one was particularly bonded with any other, so it was decided that the group could be split. (Usually it isn`t a good idea to split a group.)

We took the four that would never be adopted by ANYONE. All are adrenal. One has an egg-sized tumor in her chest. She is old, and doesn`t have long, but I have promised her we`ll make it as wonderful as possible for her. One little boy had a particularly bad TERRIBLE case of ear mites. They had chewed clear through his ear drum. He was badly dehydrated, as well as severely anemic. He`s somewhere between four & five years old. There`s a long, skinny albino who is missing half his fur. He arrived covered with a rash, & scratches, infected by urine burn. Dehydrated, and very tender in the tummy. The last one, a male--maybe four years old, is totally bald, except for his black socks. All four will be on lupron now.

I know we didn`t need more ferrets, but Heartland Small Animal Rescue sent us a plea--and we just couldn`t let the ferrets die...

My wonderful husband Kurt took the 7 hour, round trip drive to Indiana to get the Indiana Four. We will spend the rest of their lives trying to make it up to them for what the last human did to them. I`m not sorry we took them.

UPDATE: October 22nd, 2008

A while back, a very nice young woman from Arizona signed our guest book.

I emailed to thank her for the nice comments, & we realized I had helped her online, months before with her little Lulu!!!

After a few months of emails & phonecalls back & forth, DeAnn let us know she would be traveling to Kansas to visit her parents. She wanted to drive the 8 hours from there, & come visit our sanctuary! We were overjoyed.

DeAnn came for a visit on August 13th (2008).

In the first 48 hours she was here, she memorized all 70 ferrets` names!! She knew which ones were on meds, & how much. She scooped litterpans. She washed meds dishes. She ran ferrets, & played with them. She scrubbed cages. Oh my, what a Godsend she was!!!! We had so much fun working together with the ferrets. She learned how to test blood glucose levels & give fluids, and saw ferrets in all walks of life, with many different health issues. She learned a lot.

DeAnn had only planned to stay three days, but the time flew by so quickly that she agreed to extend her visit by a couple of days. I`m old enough to be her mother, but we were both like a couple of kids--staying up late, & rising early, so we could have as much time together as possible.

Not only did she bust her fanny helping us with the ferrets, she also left a pretty large donation for the babies :)

On the fifth day, when DeAnn left, I really felt a deep sense of loss. We really missed her companionship & all the help! I found myself wishing she lived nearby.

We have kept in close touch, during the past several weeks. DeAnn is suffering ferret withdrawal.

She will be coming for another visit in December.

UPDATE: September 14th, 2008

Our annual ferret lovers gathering will be on Sunday, September 28th,

this year.

You are invited to come meet our babies, see our sanctuary, & learn

how it works.

This is not a fundraiser--It`s an opportunity to meet others who share

your passion for fuzzies.

There will be plenty of food, soft drinks, & conversation. It will be

open- house style, beginning around noon, & lasting til whenever. (Last

year, our last guest left around midnight. LOL. Nobody wanted it to

end!) We like it when guests bring pictures of their babies to share.

We would be so happy to meet more of you! We are in Kirkland, Illinois.

Please email for directions.

Love,

Zoo

UPDATE: June 10th, 2008

I sat in on Jeremy`s surgery this morning. Things went very well. The tumors were just under the skin & not connected to, or grown into anything vital. They came out easily. Just as the vet was closing, Jeremy`s heart stopped. Just stopped.

Jeremy was a wonderful deaf silver blaze, who came in with a thin, wirey, scraggly coat, & looking skeletal. He was too weak then, for surgery to remove the two marble-sized lumps on his side. In almost three months` time, he had gained weight, grown stronger,& had a beautiful new coat--but the lumps were growing too--and one of them was now ulcerated.

Only last night, he was running & playing--apparently healthy, except for the large lumps that were to be removed. His bloodwork had looked good, and he was strong enough for surgery, so it was was a "go"----and now his life is cut short. Despite all efforts, we lost our boy.

At least he didn`t die in pain. He was unconscious, under the anesthetic.

Jeremy wasn`t on our site. June & Glen foster several for us, and Jeremy was one of "theirs". We are heartsick--but at least we have answers. We did a necropsy & discovered his heart was about three times the size it should have been. (Cardiomyopathy.) Often, patients with it can`t survive the anesthetic. Also, there were nodules on the lungs & in the chest area. (cancer) He didn`t stand a chance. Even if he had survived the surgery, the cancer or heart would most likely have taken him within a month or so---and we`re lucky it didn`t before NOW.

Strangely enough, by being too weak for surgery, he was allowed to have some time on this earth, being truly loved, & truly happy.

June & Glen did an amazing job with this wonderful boy--and for those few months he had with them, life was good...We hope to see you on the other side, Jeremy...

UPDATE: May 30th, 2008

We were stunned to get an email from Friends Of Ferret Shelters, saying they wanted to do a raffle for us, in honor of our sanctuary`s 10th anniversary! They want to help our babies. I can`t stop smiling!

We are very blessed to have so many caring friends in the ferret community. The prizes look incredible!!!!

Here`s a link to the raffle.

www.shelterfriends.blogspot.com

Love, Zoo

UPDATE: May 5th, 2008

Happy 10th anniversary to Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary!!!

In December of 1997, there were two little ferrets living in a pot house in Wisconsin. They did not have names--They were referred to as "the ferrets". The owners thought it was funny to exhale marijuana into their faces & watch their reactions. They often did this, at the parties they had.

The ferrets did not have a litter pan--the poo was piled high in the corners of their filthy cage. The food dish was often empty--and the water dish wasn`t clean. When one of "the ferrets" went bald, someone told the owners it was cancer---and they had coped with that by throwing her out in the snow to die...

Fast forward through the winter, my daughter`s friend attended one of their wild parties in early May of 1998.

Having found out after the fact, about the poor little bald girl who had been thrown out to die, she decided to smuggle the remaining ferret out of there. She knew we had two ferrets, and asked if we would take the ferret in, if she brought it to us. She called the ferret "Clepto" (for "stolen") LOL.

The ferret had had a "Pretty Terrible" life-- so we removed the "P" & the "T" (the pretty terrible) and "Clepto`s" new name became "Cleo" She was about three years old--and she was our first rescue.

Cleo was in pretty bad shape, & smelled like pot for a couple weeks, despite repeated bathings. (Oh how little we knew, back then----and we only had TWO FERRETS!!!!) Fortunately, we had a wonderful ferret vet, with whom we developed a close friendship.(He taught me most of what I know about ferrets.)

That`s how it started. We took in eight or nine more, that year.

If anyone had told me in May of 1998 that my husband & I would share a home with 69 ferrets, I`d have said they were nuts! If anyone had told me my husband would build TWO ROOMS, just for those ferrets, I d never have believed them. If anyone had said I`d be talking & emailing with people from all over the United States about their ferrets, I`d have laughed. Come to think of it--If someone had told me my nickname would become "Zoo" or that I`d be called "The mother of all ferrets" I`d have been in stitches!!! LOL.

Anyhow, this week it`s our 10th anniversary. Pretty neat, huh?

Love, Zoo

UPDATE: January 14th, 2008

We have two new friends! We got a call from a young couple in Rochelle, Illinois, who had read about our sanctuary in Ferrets Magazine. They wanted to come visit us & learn more about ferrets. They had taken in two, about a week ago, from someone they knew.

They have researched, read, & now learned hands-on how to easily care for their babies.

They will be returning to learn more while volunteering, on occasion. (A win-win for EVERYBODY!)

Kim & Josh, if you`re reading this-- I am so happy to have met you and your babies. You`re going to be excellent ferrents!

Love, Zoo