A Stray Ferret in a Woman's Backyard Ultimately Leads Her to Start Her Own Ferret Rescue
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This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!
One late, snowy night in winter, the outside light at home came on indicating 'life' in the back garden. Looking out, we saw a little creature walking across the lawn. The next morning he was asleep in an armchair in our disused barn, 'he' being a ferret (initially thought he was a pine marten!) who we kept after failing to find his owner. We called him Sid.
PHOTO: SARA LAMMINGEverything we read about ferrets indicated they are very sociable, so we got Louie from a small rescue where I then volunteered every weekend for a number of years. That was until it had to close suddenly, leaving 26 ferrets needing a home very quickly. I took Dylan, Charlie, Baby, Fay, Kimmy, Pablo, Lula and Henry.
Five years later, I own and run, with the help of two animal care assistants and many wonderful volunteers, Prospect Ferret Rescue, a registered charity dedicated to the rescue and re-homing of abused, unwanted or abandoned ferrets.
The rescue provides a temporary sanctuary for up to 90 ferrets at any one time, whilst finding those suitable for adoption loving, responsible, forever homes. We have successfully re-homed 369 ferrets in three years of operation. We also provide a permanent home for those who cannot be adopted due to ill-health, age, or temperament.
I love without reserve each one of these playful, affectionate little furbabies who all have their own personalities and currently have, in addition to the rescue, a 'business' of 11 ferrets of my own. They are easy pets to keep, sleeping up to 18/20 hours a day but also needing a couple of hours of 'playtime,' during which their antics will keep you royally entertained. Once neutered, they smell no more than a cat or dog and are not 'bitey' if, like most animals, they're handled and cared for lovingly.
FERRET. PHOTO: PIXABAY / Юрий Кузнецов
If you get a ferret (or it gets you) you quickly realize it needs a friend, so you get one more. Then you need a bigger cage/hutch, which means you can get another one (or even two), and that's what we call FERRET MATHS!
Story submitted by Sara Lamming from Huddersfield, United Kingdom.
This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!
