Here are the ferret giving tree writeups for shelter ferrets that are in foster/hospice care up in Moscow.

Satin

Satin is a sweet albino girl who is almost 4 years old.  She first arrived at the shelter in January 2008.  When she arrived she had severe bloody ears and horrible ear mites, her eyes were also very infected and runny. While her ears were cleaned up, her eye condition, caused by clay cat litter, still cause a problem, vet says she has a recurring infection in her left eye and she receives medication for that when it flares up.  She occasionally has coughing spells and she suffers from an enlarged heart so she gets her vetmedlin and lasix daily.  If that wasn’t bad enough, she also was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, so this Christmas will most likely be her last.

She is a very sweet and cuddly girl but she also has an attitude. She gets along with her shelter friend Little Man and she bunks with him, but she will attack all other ferrets.  For Christmas Satin would like a medium sized heavy ceramic food dish and any sort of fleece lined bedding you would like to send. She likes all sorts of toys and isn’t picky.  Cotton swabs and cotton balls are helpful to clean around her eyes and ears.  Anything you want to give will be happily accepted.  Gift cards to WinCo Foods or Walmart help us pay for litter and soup supplies or donations towards her medications also help.

Little Man

Little Man is a loving chocolate boy who has had a hard life.  He is almost 4 years old and came to the shelter in January 2008.  He came in with very dirty ears, a horrible ear mite problem, and infected eyes.  His eye problems cleared up and he recovered from that.  He had adrenal surgery in May and his left adrenal gland was removed. Unfortunately his right adrenal gland was very enlarged, but could not be removed due to the fact it was attached to the vena cava.  He is starting to get an enlarged abdomen, so we can tell the cancer is spreading. In mid-September he suffered a minor stroke due to blood clots and it has affected his behavior a fair bit.  He isn’t all too playful anymore, but he loves to cuddle. Just today, 11/18 he suffered two more stoke type incidents, one minor, and one pretty major.  Currently he is staggering when he walks and we are hoping that he will recover, but we aren’t sure if he will make it to Christmas, but this Christmas will most likely be his last.

Little Man is very loving and adores all other ferrets. Right now he bunks with his shelter friend Satin. He’d like a medium sized heavy ceramic dish for water, since he isn’t a fan of water bottles much.  He would love any sort of fleece lined bedding, especially a covered hammock and a nice large human sized fleece blanket, where he spends most of his time.  He isn’t a huge fan of toys, but likes crinkle tubes and really enjoys igloos and fleece tents.  Really anything you¢d like to give he’d appreciate.  Cotton swabs would be great since he needs his ears cleaned out on a daily basis.  Gift cards to WinCo Foods or Walmart help us get litter and soup supplies.

Jayden 

Jayden is a very loving girl who had a horrible life prior to the shelter.  We aren’t sure on her exact age, but she¢s around 3 ½-4 ½ years old.  We were lucky to get her when we did because she most likely would have died in a few weeks.  She came from a very abusive home and was neglected.  She was hit, kicked, and thrown and because of that she is completely blind in one eye, partially blind in the other eye.  She suffered mouth injuries as well.  One top canine is broke off at the gumline, the other top canine is cracked, some of the smaller top teeth also were ripped out, and she suffered a jawbone injury that healed, but not correctly, so sometimes it hurts for her to eat kibble, so along with her kibble she gets soup twice a day. Since she’s been on the soup diet, she¢s put on a lot of weight and is looking more like a ferret every day. She was hardly ever let out of her cage in her past home, so she is enjoying the ability to run around and play and get loving attention from humans.

Jayden never had much before she got to the shelter, just a flimsy little cotton hammock, and since she’s been here she’s a huge fan of fleece sleepsacks and covered fleece lined hammocks, so any type of bedding is something she would love.  She likes playing with almost all toys, but she especially likes crocheted eggs and other soft toys that she can thrash around.  A small ceramic dish would be wonderful for her soup, because she gets very impatient while waiting for hers to get cleaned between feedings.  Really anything you’d like to give would be great.  Gift cards to WinCo Foods help us buy soup supplies, and Walmart gift cards help us get litter and other necessary shelter supplies.

If you’d like to be a santa for any of the ferrets I have up here in Moscow please email me at quadcities@emmettferret.org.

Hey everyone!

It’s Cathy from up in Moscow.  Since it sounds like the Ferret Giving Tree will be a no go this year or if it does happen it sounds like early-mid December will be when it shows up.  We decided to post our giving tree ferret descriptions on the blog here.  So if you are interested in being a santa please contact the shelter.
Jamba

Jamba is a very sweet 4 ½ year old boy.  He came to the shelter showing signs of adrenal disease, he had surgery and had his left adrenal removed, but he was left untreated for too long in his past home and the cancer spread.  Currently he has a hair pattern similar to a poodle and because of his health issues he does have problems making it to the litterbox.  He doesn’t have much time left with us, but he does love to snuggle with humans and he enjoys a good scratch every once in a while.  He does love to sleep and would enjoy having some nice soft fleece covered hammocks or other soft fleece bedding.  He would also like a wide mouthed water bottle for his cage.  He isn’t too picky and would love whatever you’d like to send him.

Taz

Taz is a good spirited senior boy who is 7 ½ years old.  He loves to give kisses and is very sweet.  Currently he is on melatonin implants for adrenal disease but he is still doing great and has lots of life left in him, however he is starting to lose muscle tone.  He loves to snuggle in sleepsacks with his lifelong cagemate Mononoke and he enjoys pushing toys around the room.  He would love to have some soft fleece sleepsacks and maybe a large covered fleece hammock that will fit both him and Mononoke.  He likes soft toys that he can push around the room and could use some nutrical for hiding his meds in.

Delmar

Delmar is a sad looking boy who is 6 years old.  Him and his 4 cagemates were picked up from animal control barely moving and covered in matts and filth.  He is making progress.  His eyes have brightened up and he has put on some weight.  He is pretty hairless right now because most of his hair was cut off due to severe matting.  He will be getting dental work done in the future once he gets strong enough.  He is a very strong willed boy and is a fighter.  He was originally adopted from another shelter when he was younger, so he has been rescued twice now.  Delmar would really love some nice soft fleece bedding for him and his 2 surviving cagemates.  His favorite place to sleep is a nice deep covered fleece hammock, so he would love to have one of those, but he would like one large enough to accommodate him and his 2 buddies.  He likes all fleece bedding and isn’t too picky. He would appreciate anything you would like to give him.

Everett

Everett is a 6 year old boy who we didn’t think would survive when he came to the shelter.  Him and his 4 cagemates were picked up from animal control barely moving and covered in matts and filth.  He was the worst off of the 5 ferrets and was in dire shape.  He couldn’t move, was mostly naked, and had numerous sores on his belly from dragging his body through urine; we weren¢t sure if he would survive the first few days.  Since then he has made a lot of progress.  He can walk again and is making a recovery.  He really enjoys soft bedding and would love covered fleece hammocks, sleepsacks, or anything that he can snuggle in with his 2 surviving buddies.  He would appreciate anything you want to give him.

Precious

Precious is a very gentle boy, yep he’s a boy with a girl’s name, but he’s cool with that.  He is 4 ½ years old and was surrendered with his 4 lifelong cagemates because his owners were concerned with his health.  He came in weighing over 5 pounds and was having heart and breathing problems due to his obesity.  He could hardly move and would gasp for breath.  He has lost some weight and is closer to his ideal weight now and his breathing and heart problems have gone away.  He does have a birth defect with one of his eyes, so one of his eyes is smaller than the other, but he can see just fine out of both eyes.  He is very sweet and loving and he could use toys that would help him keep moving around the room, as he still needs to lose some weight.  He loves soft bedding and would enjoy a covered fleece hammock or sleepsack to share with his cagemates.  He would appreciate anything you would like to give him, but please no sugar based treats, he likes those types of treats a bit too much, but he can have meat based treats every once in a while.

Cocoa (Blackfoot)

Cocoa, formerly known as Blackfoot, is a spunky 6 ½ year old senior girl.  She was surrendered to another shelter when she was just a few months old with a bad biting problem.  She spent over 5 ½ years at that shelter before she got transferred down to one of our foster homes, who rehabbed her, and sent her down to us.  She still likes to nip people she doesn’t know and is very territorial of her cage, however all she has ever known is a shelter cage, so she’s very protective of her space.  She’s still not a huge cuddler, but is getting friendlier all the time.  The more run time she gets the happier she is.  She really would like a home that understands her needs, but until that time comes she would love some soft comfy bedding that she can claim as her own.  She likes anything made with fleece and really likes sleepsacks and covered hammocks.  She also likes soft plush toys that she can thrash around and stash.  She enjoys treats and would like anything you’d like to send her.

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea is a loving older girl who is over 7 years old.  She was surrendered to the shelter earlier this month because her former owner was sent to prison.  She lost the only home she ever knew and we aren’t sure how she will adjust to shelter life.  She is completely blind and has a large tumor growing on her abdomen.  Surgery isn’t an option for her because of her age and health, so we aren’t sure how much longer she has left with us, we are hoping she makes it to the new year.  She loves to snuggle in soft, warm bedding so she would like any type of fleece bedding.  She isn’t really into toys, but a soft plush toy she could cuddle with in her cage would be nice.  She likes treats and loves the high quality food at the shelter since she was previously eating store brand kitten food.

Some things that would help these ferrets and the shelter out are: gift cards to Costco for toilet paper and garbage bags, gift cards to WinCo Foods for litter, Innova Evo, Wysong Achetypal 2, Zupreem, Foamy Fries, laxative, donations to help with upcoming surgeries and melatonin implants, or anything else you’d like to send.

Emmett Ferret Shelter

6034 1/2 Hillview Rd.

Emmett, ID 83617

If you’d like to be a santa for any of the ferrets listed above please email info@emmettferret.org to make sure they don’t already have a santa.

We will have 5 copies of Jeanne Carley’s Ferret Calendar for sale shortly. They are 14.95 and are in great demand due to short print run. If you would like to reserve one, please email info@emmettferret.org..

The shelter has ordered a small spray mop/vacuum combo for use in the shelter. We’re hoping to cut down cleaning time and to help easily sanitize the floors more often. It’s the little things…

~EFS

As Laura promised, here are the population graphs for ‘06, ‘07 and ‘08 - but we still have a few months to go for a full 2008.

What we found surprising is that we expected to see a much clearer pattern and it would look something like 6 week to 3 month long cycles each year.  Now it looks like the best we can say is that the population increases from spring to fall, and drops from fall to spring.

One reason why it may be difficult to discern much pattern from these charts is that they occasionally include ‘unusual events’ that cause the number of ferrets in the shelter to change quickly, and somewhat artificially.  This would include transferring ferrets from or to other shelters, assisting in large rescues from outside our typical region.  It would also be helpful to include indirectly related events, such as ferret shows, articles, advertisements, demos, etc., to see which ones possibly have an effect on adoption or surrenders.

Even if population graphs don’t prove helpful for trending and budgeting, we do think it will be helpful for telling the shelter’s yearly story — We’re looking for a good way to add indicators and links that could indicate the various events that occurred during the year and link to a related blog post, etc.

In Sept, Rob of (Rob & Amber) EFS got to be in the ferret show. Little we know Rob would be such a great scorer and be so well behaved with strangers. Rob was the badly abused biter who has learned people aren’t so bad, and once he knows you won’t hurt him just loves on you. He follows me around the room now and begs to be held.

Our former evil biter took 1st place in the Companion Ring — the ring where the scores are based on what a good pet the ferret is!! Won’t anyone come meet Rob & Amber? They just need a knowledgable ferret family with a little patience. They like other ferrets, Amber already had adrenal surgery and Rob wins ferret shows. Rob comes with his trophy and ribbons.

Rob and Amber are a testament to the patience and tolerance Cathy & Paul have. Thanks for working so hard with these two. They’re now just fabulous.

~EFS

Shelter population is finally on a decent in/out flow now and things are much easier to manage. Adoptions come a few at a time, incoming is a few every now and then and not so much the deluge of many large groups at once. It is good to know we can handle that, but its much easier to get everything finished when things run a little more slowly.

Some news:

We have Zamzows Gift Certificates that must be used by Dec 31st. We have $20 increments and $10 increments. For a donation of $18 you can have the $20 and for $9 a $10 cert. All the funds benefit the shelter. We’d love to see them be used by those of you who shop there. These are extras from the Ferret Show that didn’t fit into our auctions. Just email info@emmettferret.org if you are interested.

Santa Paws will be visiting PetSmart in Meridian on Dec 6th and we’d love to photograph your pets with Santa for a $10 donation you’ll receive a framed photograph and time on santa’s lap

The ferret givingtree is still not quite up yet this year. There were issues apparently and Mel & Bill didn’t get to work on it this year. The last year’s propritor is just a tad behind. Once the tree is up, we’ll post the link here and on the front page of the website.

Bill has been doing some data analysis of incoming and outgoing ferrets for the past three years 08,07 and 06. We can easily see a trend of when we will be the lowest and that we should prepare for higher numbers at certain months. It’s pretty interesting. Here is the 2006 graph just for kicks. Bill will post all three with some analysis once he’s finished. Click the graph for a slightly larger view.

Part of me feels a little guilty for not having written in so long, the other part (the tired and ill part) is just happy to have some time right now. There’s been a lot of things coming down the pike and I think everyone will be happy about the changes we’re working on.

Bill and I attended the Idaho Non-Profit Conference and came back with a plethora of information and tactics to build a great strategic plan. Hoping a board meeting will be set in less than 2 weeks so we can begin working on it. Bill has begun writing automated scripts so the database will auto-email us telling us who needs call backs, etc. That will save lots of time and no one will fall through the cracks.

Pet Pictures with Santa Paws scheduled for Dec 6th 11-4 at PetSmart in Meridian! We are still looking for a helper elf or two if anyone would like to put in some volunteer time petting people’s animals and giving them treats!

On the Ferret Front

Soggy Bottom Boys are now just 3, but they are active, busy and very energetic. Delmar is a riot and he’s all action once he is out to play. What a difference in these three since they came in!

Today we went to Canyon County to pick up a ferret that had been found by a dog. The center said he didn’t look good, but seemed alert and was still eating. We had some hope that he was just stressed and had minor injuries. We picked him up in the morning and then took him to Dr. Koob a few hours later after working for a while. Dr. Koob called me about 3 hours later with some bad news: His back was severely broken and his intestines were mangled– there was no hope of survival. The sad thing is, his front end was so happy, healthy, and alert. He didn’t even know his back end was destroyed because there was no pain from the severed nerve. I really feel for the owners who are probably still trying to find him, and to the woman who found him with her dog (in her fenced yard) who was just sad as can be finding him. i had named him Theodore because no one should ever go without a name. If any readers know someone in Caldwell missing a sterling silver male ferret, please contact the Idaho Humane Society if you’d like to verify. I’m sorry to the family of Theodore. Sometimes nature wins.

A good friend of the shelter also lost a ferret recently to a viral issue that spiraled out of hand. We are sorry for your loss.

So, since the last posting there’s been a lot of drama, but intake has slowed a bit. We are starting to get Micron employee ferrets due to layoffs as well. I have another cold (3 in a row! Tic Tac Toe) so fall has not been very kind to me this year. Hoping for a better winter.

Happy Halloween to those of you who partake. Watch your candy around your ferrets! they can smell fruity, chocolaty candy a mile away!

Until next time

Laura & Bill

EFS

Some quick updates. I have returned from Europe to catch a really lousy cold. Because of said cold, the Spot Walk in the Thunderstorm was not in my best interest. I couldn’t even get out of bed that morning, let alone be out in the wet and cold. So, I hope our table was used by someone who needed it.

We have had adoptions and surrenders and this weekend the website was finally updated from the backlog (although we adopted two out Monday). It’s also the time we spontaneously run out of supplies all at once (why?, why? all at once!!) even though we order them at different times, at least once per year we run out of everything.

Soggy Bottom Boys

Well we are down to just 3 of the boys taken from Canyon County. Hope, the little female and Fen didn’t make it. Fen didn’t recover well from surgery and then a Marshall baby must have brought in some sort of baby-funk and with the lowered immune system, no TLC, fluids, or antibiotics were going to help him. His surgery prognosis wasn’t so great as he had carcinoma and other cysts throughout his body. I’m not exactly sure why it hit Hope so hard, but with her condition, she didn’t have a lot of reserve. Delmar, Everett and Trenton are recovering with only Everett being slow. Delmar is something else now! He will launch himself from the cage onto your shoulder and boy can he jump with those new leg muscles. We gave him an implant tonight to see if he would be a surgery candidate down the road. He has recovered so well, he may just make it with flying colors.

The forclosure/financial issue is now the biggest turn-in cause. People are having a very difficult time keeping their ferrets whether it be because of care costs or housing issues.

The givingtree will have ferrets on it starting in mid-October. We will post the web address as well as add a link on the main page once the tree is up and running. We will put up the ferrets most likely not going home for the holidays. We have quite a few older ferrets here who are loving and sweet, but who are probably not going to find a new home right away.

More to come

~EFS

Took this photo in the Netherlands.. looked a lot like so-so 8n1

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Spot Walk is Saturday! For those of you who were interested in volunteering, please contact me so we can coordinate. I haven’t had one full day home yet after returning from Europe, so any support we can garner would be appreciated.Thanks!

Laura