Author: Barb Carlson

I’m sorry I am so behind in listing adoptable ferrets. I was full, turning away ferrets left and right, and was just overwhelmed with the work of taking care of the little guys. I’ve had some adoptions, the Three Rivers Ferret Council picnic is over, and hopefully I can get back on track. It would help if I could find someone willing to help me photograph new ferrets periodically. It’s difficult to do alone. It works much better with a helper.

Recently adopted: Amigo, Bitty, Felix, Kirby, Longbottom, Moco, Ramone, Slinky, Sniffle, Yukon.

In the works: Winifred.

In foster care waiting to come in: Link, Razor, Dozer, Gabby.

Still in the shelter: Charley, Ellie, Nicholas, Penny Lane, Pepper, Phred, Piper, Princess, Ratchet, Sparrow, Vivi, Wasabi.

Not all are young and healthy, of course, but that’s who are in the shelter.

I am very sorry to report that Bailey, the cute little guy with the heart block issue, died in his sleep this past Friday night. We are all very sad. We were doing so well with the fund raiser, and Dr. Wagner was trying to find him a suitable pacemaker, but poor Bailey just couldn’t wait.

For those who donated money towards his pacemaker, please let me know what you would like me to do with your money. I can refund it (minus PayPal fees) or apply it toward vet care for other ferrets. I do have a rather large number of ferrets who need adrenal treatment (Nicholas, Charley, Phred, Longbottom, and perhaps one or two others).

Recently, there seem to be an awful lot of ferrets found out in the world, wandering through yards, hiding in garages and crossing major highways. Sure, some of these ferrets have escaped (we know what escape artists they are) but some are being dumped.

If you know anyone who no longer wants their ferret, please direct them to a ferret shelter or local Humane agency. It is far more cruel to let a ferret loose to slowly starve to death, be killed by another animal or hit by a car, than to have them humanely euthanized. Yes, they are better off dead than wandering outside.

Don’t abandon them in your apartment.

Don’t throw them out your car window in traffic.

Don’t put them, cage and all, in a dumpster.

They won’t be okay, they cannot live in the wild, and they will die a horrible death if someone doesn’t find them first.

In the last 2 weeks, I have taken in SIX ferrets who were abandoned. Four were in an apartment building basement with cage and a bin of filthy hammocks. Two were found (in separate incidents) wandering a 4-lane highway in Monroeville. In the past, I’ve taken in ferrets that people witnessed being thrown out of car windows. What the heck?

Where would you have to be in your life to do something like that?

It is up to everyone as a community to care for those creatures who can’t care for themselves. If you know of an animal in danger, do something about it. Please. If you see a ferret outside, grab it! It is probably moments away from death.

A big thank you to those people out there who cared enough to save the ferrets.

All the photos in this post are of ferrets who had been abandoned or who were found outside. These are only some of the ferrets who have been turned in to my rescue! These were just the photos I could find easily.

In the most recent incident (ferrets found in Monroeville), they were found on different days in almost the same section of highway. I don’t know why they survived. The nails were so long they had trouble walking, and the ears were filthy with terrible ear mite infestations. It is obvious they were not being cared for properly. What is wrong with the world?

Someone found a ferret and captured her, and took it straight to the Humane Society. The woman had been handling the ferret with gloves because she was “nippy”. While at the Humane Society, she bit two workers hard enough to draw blood.

Luckily, local ferret owners were right on it, and several contacted the Humane Society. I also called them. The woman was polite but firm that there had to be a 10-day quarantine. I told her that was no problem, and that when the quarantine was up, I would be happy to take the ferret and work with her.

Several other local ferret owners stopped by inquiring about the ferret, others called, and many in our local club were going nuts worrying about the ferret. Finally, when the quarantine was up, the vet cleared the ferret (“no signs of rabies”) and they called me to have someone get her.

Ross went down to pick up the ferret. He waited for over an hour before they could get to him (it was a Friday afternoon). When he got back to talk to the adoption person, they read him ALL the notes in the file. Apparently all the calls and visits were documented. In her paperwork, though, it said, “Bit two HS employees and drew blood. Recommend kill and send out head for testing rather than quarantine due to lack of space.”

That explained the tone of voice I’d noticed when I talked to someone there. I think they thought we were completely insane to want to save this ferret, since it bit so hard.

I got the ferret out of the carrier without incident. She was tense and frightened, but not overtly aggressive. Over the next couple days, I gave her treats, handled her, let her play … and at no time did she ever try to bite. She is a young female, no more than 1 year old. I think she might be deaf, which would explain the biting … deaf ferrets are often more easily spooked.

She is a lucky little girl. She is lucky that so many ferret owners were willing to keep on eye on places like Craig’s List and the Humane Society. She was lucky that there are so many people here in Pittsburgh who love ferrets.

She is not a nippy ferret. She is most certainly not a ferret I would call “a biter”. I have rehabbed some really bad biters over the years, and she doesn’t even make it into that category. She never even tried to nip my ankle, and my own personal ferrets will do that!

I think this is a wonderful example of how people paying attention and pulling together can make a difference in the life of a ferret. The Humane Society is severely understaffed. Those people look shell-shocked to me. Rather than censure them, we need to offer our support. Don’t just assume it’s all good. Volunteer, donate, and let them know that we care.

The best thing anyone could do at this point is to send a donation to the Humane Society. Address it to Dara Krom – Director of Customer Services. Tell her thank you for taking the time to do the quarantine. Reference Animal ID: A142379.

This cute little guy has a second degree heart block and needs a pacemaker. He nearly died on me last night … his heart stopped beating and he fell over! His tail poofed out, he pooped, and his lips turned blue. He looked very dead. I couldn’t hear a heartbeat, either. I put him on his back and started doing CPR on him and luckily that brought him around. The medications don’t seem to be working very well, and I can’t be with him all the time.

I know it’s a lot of money, but he is otherwise healthy and very, very sweet.

If you click on the orange ChipIn! button, you can make a donation to help pay for Bailey’s pacemaker.

Help keep his heart beating! It is a secure location, so you don’t need to worry about your information being taken. I’ve used it before and it worked well.