Success Stories!

Heartwarming stories of special critters who found wonderful homes!  Read all about some very special kiddos who's new companions accepted them despite the fact that each had some personal issues.  :)  Each story is such a happy tail and time and again the hooman bean companions find that an issue or two really isn't a big deal - but giving a loving home to a special kiddo sure is!  Nothing makes us happier than updating this page with new stories!  :)

Click on any photo for a full size image!

Brandy:  Surrendered December, 2009:  young adult owner choose to move to a "no pets" residence
Vanilla:  Surrendered May, 2010:  either "daughter's allergies" or after a move the family "didn't have room for the ferrets," depending which parent you talk to (snark)

Brandy came in with pal Marlon.  They're both such sweet little critters!  At first they stuck together even after making new friends in our large social play group, but then they decided with so many other friends about they should expand their horizions.  :)  Brandy is a silly little thing; she's usually up for having fun and likes to surprise us with an ever changing coat color.  I say, sometimes it's hard to figure out who she is since she changes her outfits so often!  

Vanilla came in with pal Smidgen.  We were very happy to receive the pair since they had a pretty shaky history.  We think that the parents "got the ferrets for the kids" and of course when the kids got tired of them, the parents didn't really think it was their job to take care of the pets.  !!!!!!!!  Anyway, Vanilla and Smidge both weren't keen to join the Shelter crew at first.  Vanilla seems to want to rule the world and, you know, some other critters just aren't on board with that plan!  Vanilla loves his sister and he was able to make other friends, but he sure could be a troublemaker in our large social play group!  We figured Vanilla just wouldn't be happy until he had a home of his own where he could feel more like King Weezil...hahaha...

Would you believe Brandy and Vanilla were adopted together, along with their two pals Marlon and Smidgen in September, 2010?  Oh, we were so happy to see these pairs off to a great new home together!  The foursome are now the next generation in a home that's had weezils for years and years.  YAY!

Elaine:  Surrendered October, 2009: Elderly couple no longer able to care for the ferrets (ferrets on at least their second home)

Elaine came in with her pal Junior. What an odd couple: Elaine is extra wee and very pale, while Junior is extra large and dark as can be! HA! Although great friends, we suspected right away that Elaine might have a health issue on board, so we thought we'd better find her a special home with a foster parent just in case.  Sure enough, we found that Elaine has adrenal disease.  She responded very well to melatonin treatment, and she was immediately SO happy to join our large social play group, so she made many new friends.  Junior headed off to a new home with new buddies first, then Elaine was lucky enough to find a great new home of her own in August, 2010.  She joins many MCF Alums in her new home and we know she's really going to enjoy having a home of her own and lots of friends!

Judi:  Surrendered March, 2009: New baby, job loss, etc.
Martha:  Surrendered July, 2009: custodian said she only had the pair for 6 months or so after they were left behind at her home by someone else...??? 
Maya:  Surrendered July, 2009:  young adult too busy to care for the ferrets said he had the pair for about a year, not sure where they spent their first year. 
Sierra:  Surrendered January, 2010:  owner choose to move to a "no pets" residence.

Judi, Douglas, Vance & McKinley came in together from the same home, but they didn't all start off together.  The story we got was that a woman who rescues dogs ended up with all of the ferrets but she didn't want them because some of her dogs weren't ferret safe.  We didn't get much information on the four; in fact, none of them even had any names!  One of our volunteers found these ferrets through an ad the woman had placed on Craig's List, so we named them after our volunteer (Douglas Vance), his wife (Judi) and his Dad (McKinley).  :)  The woman said Judi was her son's ferret, unwanted after he left for college.  Douglas was apparently found stray a month before we got him; the woman told our volunteer he arrived in terrible shape, very emaciated, but he was already back to fightin' weight when we met him.  McKinley and Vance were given to the woman after their former family didn't want them, so we know they have been together for at least some time.  And that's all we know of this crew's past!  The four were good friends and very social, so they were all happy to make new friends right away.  Judi spent much time with us.  At first she was quite the little drama queen but over time she adjusted to having new friends every couple of weeks and decided lots of friends aren't so bad after all!  

Brittni and Martha were first noticed by one of our volunteers. He found an ad on Craig's List and became worried when he saw how thin the girls appeared in the photo within the ad, so he quickly contacted the poster and let her know about our Shelter. Fortunately we did get the girls; they were indeed far too thin! Our volunteer fostered the girls for a couple of weeks and each gained a half a pound under his expert care. The girls were in otherwise good health and very happy to get attention; all they needed was a proper amount of chow each day! So when we met this cute pair they were already back in action and they quickly joined our large social play group. Martha was quite the little friend maker during her stay with us and she has more energy than most, which made her extra fun!  :)

Maya came in with pal Kate.  The two cuties both look as pretty on the outside as they are on the inside - what a couple of dolls!  The girls were rescued by the same Shelter Volunteer who rescued Brittini and Martha, so the four became fast friends in the 2 weeks they were at their foster home before coming into the Shelter.  And once they arrived, they set about to make even more friends!  Maya...well she's just as sweet as she is cute!  She was friend to all during her stay.

Sierra and Lottie arrived fat, happy and sassy!  But things changed in a hurry for Sierra.  She took finding herself at the Shelter rather hard, and she developed a serious problem with gastric ulcers.  She is a dear little thing and was a wonderful patient, so after a few weeks of nursing (which included finding insulinoma and beginning medication) she started eating on her own again and became a fat, sassy lady!  Of course "fat" for her means she might weigh a pound...she is a tiny little lady!  Stranglely, Lottie decided she didn't want to be friends with Sierra anymore, so Sierra had to make to with the new friends she made while she spent time in our nursing ward.  Sierra is so affectionate...she will kiss and kiss and kiss any human that will accommodate her!  

Would you believe we were able to send these four good friends off to a wonderful new home together in July, 2010?  YAY!  These four lovely ladies completed a nice set of 10 weezils in a great home that has adopted from the Shelter many times over the years.  We know the gals are going to love their new life!

Minnie:  Surrendered January, 2010:  owner choose to move to a "no pets" residence.

Minnie is an absolute doll - we just love her to pieces!  Minnie has had a rough journey thus far in life.  She came in as part of a trio with Walt and Jacqueline.  All three were thin and obviously not well cared for but we really didn't get much history.  Jacqueline obviously had adrenal disease (she was mostly bald), so her former owner said that since she didn't want the trio anymore but Jacqueline's health was getting in the way of finding someone to adopt them, she planned to kill Jacqueline and then try to adopt out the other two.  ?!?!?  So we were very glad to receive the trio!  When the trio arrived they were pretty quiet and kept to themselves.  Both girls had obvious stress and poor Walt seemed to be in ill health right off the bat.  Sadly Walt died a couple of weeks after he arrived.  :(  Then Minnie and Jacqueline really crashed and had to spend time in our nursing ward.  We discovered both girls had insulinoma and both started treatment.  Jacqueline was first to recover, rather quickly in fact, and she got busy having fun with lots of new friends!  Minnie's recovery was much slower...she spent many, many weeks battling serious gastric ulcers that really threatened her life.  Finally Minnie began to climb up out of the hole she had fallen into and at long last her weight stabilized and she began making progress (she was helped along a bit by treatment for her adrenal disease, which emerged a couple of months after we met her).  Then all of the sudden, after such a great recovery, Jacqueline died in her sleep!  Now she did have adrenal disease and she was older, but we were heartbroken after watching what we thought would be a long-lasting recovery.  We were very please that Jacqueline had made it back to happiness and that she did in fact spend much time bouncing around our place at least.  :)  Finally by the spring Minnie was back in action with a brand new fat belly and a renewed spirit!  We just loved to watch Minnie play...after all that she went through, it is so heartwarming to see her bouncing around and having a great time!  We happily sent Minnie off to a great new home in July, 2010.  She joins several other MCF Alumni and we'll get to see her often!  :)

Rose  Surrendered March, 2009:  rescued from an abandoned house by the Michigan Humane Society; quickly transferred.

Wee Rose is such a sweet little lass!  Can you imagine anyone just leaving a pet behind to die when they move from their home?  Sadly it happens all the time...sure such things are happening more often right now due to the number of foreclosures around the country, but people cruelly leaving pets behind in a former home is NOT a new phenomenon.  :(  Fortunately Rose was lucky enough to find her way to our place and we were happy to have her.  Rose obviously has adrenal disease (thin coat) and she's an older girl so we screened her for insulinoma not long after she arrived; she failed the test so she's also on daily meds for insulinoma.  But this little trooper isn't done yet - she responded very well to meds for both her ailments and she just LOVES having friends!  Rose adjusted well to life at the Shelter and in fact, despite her small size, she is one tough lady!  She routinely tried to tell our Ambassador Teri (aka Taco) who was boss!  But she is also very sweet and gets along with everyone.  And did Rose ever find a great home!  She joined our friends the Neubauers who always have a crew at least a dozen strong, so now Rose has many, many friends and is one spoiled lady!  

Clark

Lois and Clark came in together having been lifelong pals.  What a sad situation these two went through! Apparently they were owned by a young man who would have been a teenager when he first got them. Life was good and apparently the ferrets were well cared for until he grew up a bit and headed off to college. Apparently he left the ferrets in the care of his Father. A woman began renting a room in the home and quickly noticed the ferrets were never out of their cage and the cage was never cleaned. In the three months she lived in the home the Father cleaned the cage 3 times, at her insistence and after talking to the young man about his ferrets. Finally she offered to try to find a home for the ferrets as it was clear the young man was not going to see to their care, nor was his Father. So welcome to the Shelter, Lois and Clark - whew!  At first the pair were pretty quiet and soon we started to suspect Clark wasn't well.  Sure enough, Clark has insulinoma, so he started medication and we administered some nursing care for a time.  

After only a wee bit o' nursing Clark was back on his feet.  But he turned out to be quite the strange little boy...Clark and Lois were lucky enough to go home with our longest serving foster home!  We were thrilled, because Lois is still a pouty sort and we knew that her new Mom could get her going.  They joined a very special crew that includes the infamous Miss Queenie!  All was well for the first couple of days, but then Clark decided he wanted to rule the roost and he started beating everyone up!  Within a week he even started trying to dominate his beloved Lois and she was MOST unhappy about this!!!  Clark's new Mom tried everything but he just wouldn't let up, and he was making everyone miserable - even Lois, which was so strange since they always seemed to be such a great pair together.  Finally we decided to try Clark back at the Shelter to see what would happen.  Would you believe that Clark went right back to his old self, content and not beating anyone up in our large social play group?!?  As for Lois, after a few days without Clark she was bouncing and happy!!!  Well I guess we sure read the situation wrong, 'eh?  Who woulda thunk it?  

We can't figure Clark out.  Here at the Shelter he is most definitely NOT top weezil.  Usually critters are so thrilled to get out of here and find a home of their own it's happiness all around, nevermind the dominance!  We're thinking perhaps Clark didn't know how to handle his potential new crew, as they were all special weezils who just aren't tough...???  Perhaps a regular crew with weezils who are in charge so Clark doesn't feel like he has to pick up the responsibility?  Oh, we were so bummed...Clark is such a sweet little guy, he's just misunderstood!  :)  FINALLY, in December, 2009, the right home came along for Clark - at long last!  He went to live with other MCF alums Roosevelt and Lincoln (the poor boys rescued from an abandoned home), a home we know really knows how to help a downtrodden weezil.  And would you believe Clark was instantly happy in his new place?  Boy, some critters are SO picky!  He was playing in no time and we are absolutely thrilled for him.  Clark is such a special little guy and we really worried that nothing would make him happy...but all it takes is some effort and enough love and even the Clarks of the world can become happy again!

Kate

Kate and Maya came in together.  Two beauties as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside!  They were rescued by the same Shelter Volunteer who rescued Brittini and Martha, so the four became fast friends in the 2 weeks they were at their foster home before coming into the Shelter.  And once they arrived, they set about to make even more friends!  Kate is quite the dancer - she really gets some serious height going when she's bouncing around.  :)  We knew that Kate wouldn't be around long since she's so loveable and gets along with everyone - especially since she really stands out in a crowd with her dancing ability!  Adrenal disease struck young for this little lady but hasn't slowed her down a bit, so we happily sent her off to a great new home in December, 2009.  She joins several MCF alumni in her new home and we know she's going to love life and keep on dancing for years to come!

Patch:  Surrendered July, 2008 Found stray, not reunited with owner, made his way to our Shelter
Douglas: 

Patch is one spunky monkey!  We were going for the truly original when we choose his name...hee hee...his symptom of adrenal disease is two bald patches, one on each side of his abdomen.  Wowza, that's some originality, 'eh?  :)  Patch is such a character.  He's always up for having fun and just loves to have many friends, so he's a fun member of our large social crew.  It's always amazing to see a critter who's been through such an ordeal be so happy about life in the Shelter!  We just can't figure out why in the world Patch was here for so long since he's such a happy little guy and made such a great impression on everyone he met, but that's just the way things work out sometimes...he had to wait so long to find a new home...

Douglas came in with pals Vance, McKinley and Judi.  The four cuties came in together from the same home, but they didn't all start off together.  The story we got was that a woman who rescues dogs ended up with all of the ferrets but she didn't want them because some of her dogs weren't ferret safe.  We didn't get much information on the four; in fact, none of them even had any names!  One of our volunteers found these ferrets through an ad the woman had placed on Craig's List, so we named them after our volunteer (Douglas Vance), his wife (Judi) and his Dad (McKinley).  :)  The woman said Judi was her son's ferret, unwanted after he left for college.  Douglas was apparently found stray a month before we got him; the woman told our volunteer he arrived in terrible shape, very emaciated, but he was already back to fightin' weight when we met him.  McKinley and Vance were given to the woman after their former family didn't want them, so we know they have been together for at least some time.  And that's all we know of this crew's past!  The four were good friends and very social, but Doug detoured to a slower crew after we diagnosed insulinoma shortly after his arrival.  The photo on the right is of Doug during his time of stress - you can see how thin he is!  But he has such a wonderful attitude, he made a full recovery to happiness and enjoyed joining a social crew.  But Doug is troubled by health issues, so we worried about him being in the Shelter too long...

And then in November, 2009, Patch and Doug were adopted together!  Both boys were SO happy to finally have a home of their own, complete with lots of new friends!  We couldn't be happier for them!

Lois

Lois and Clark came in together - and what a sad situation they went through. Apparently they were owned by a young man who would have been a teenager when he first got them. Life was good and apparently the ferrets were well cared for until he grew up a bit and headed off to college. Apparently he left the ferrets in the care of his Father. A woman began renting a room in the home and quickly noticed the ferrets were never out of their cage and the cage was never cleaned. In the three months she lived in the home the Father cleaned the cage 3 times, at her insistence and after talking to the young man about his ferrets. Finally she offered to try to find a home for the ferrets as it was clear the young man was not going to see to their care, nor was his Father. So welcome to the Shelter, Lois and Clark - whew!  At first the pair were pretty quiet and soon we started to suspect Clark wasn't well.  Sure enough, Clark has insulinoma, so he started medication and we administered some nursing care for a time.  Clark recovered and became happy, but Lois still hung back...it was so tough for us to get her moving and feeling happy - we just didn't know what to do!  Finally Lois and Clark were lucky enough to find a wonderful new home of their own, a home that's very experienced with little emotional cripples like Miss Lois.  :)  The got to join the famous Miss Queenie and were truly lucky to find this home, but Clark decided to be a bully to everyone!  We couldn't figure it out...but finally after weeks of trying Clark returned to the Shelter.  Would you believe Lois then finally became happy?  Huh!  We never would have thought of separating them, but it seems they've decided to go in different directions and Lois is much happier without her formal pal Clark!  Hey, whatever works for our weezil friends - Lois is lucky to have her great home and we're thrilled to finally see her happy!  

(Surrendered January, 2004) Elyse and Herbert are officially "Weezils of Legend!"  Elyse and Herbert, along with Ash, Dana, Agnes and Mandy, were 6 of 14 ferrets surrendered from one home.  We actually brought the 6 back from the Toronto Ferret Aid Society.  We weren't sure what their life was like at the former home, but now after much time has passed we have figured one thing out:  these ferrets were physically abused.  Elyse has always been the most striking example, and we do mean striking!  HA!  Elyse has managed to wound a few people.  She doesn't just bite to let you know who's boss, or out of fear, she's letting you know that hands coming at her a certain way are NOT ALLOWED.  When she managed to get Shelter Mom Nanci, she delivered 15 bite/tear/slice wounds in one encounter.  But would you believe she was more upset about this encounter than Nanci was?  

Over time we learned pretty quickly is that Elyse simply has rules.  And if we simply follow her rules, then we'll all get along just fine!  These days Shelter Dad Alex even kisses her on the nose!  Nanci thinks he is indeed being a bit reckless, but he makes sure that Elyse is all comfy and petted, plus he gets her all snuggled up with the firm paw hold, so she can't really manage too much harm from that posture...or at least he thinks so!  HA!   

Sadly we lost Elyse's former cage mate (or at least we were told Elyse and Ash had lived in a separate cage in their former home) Ash to the coccidia infection in June, 2005.  Meanwhile, Herbert was being SUCH a snot with friends we decided to pair him up with Elyse.  They absolutely adore each other and are now an inseparable pair.  But they no longer want to have other friends, so now it's just the two of them.  :)  Elyse and Herbert will be 6.5 in January, 2007 - but boy, you'd never know it!  They are SO spunky and show no signs of slowing down.  Herbert does have adrenal disease now, but he's on melatonin and not having any trouble at all.  Meanwhile, Elyse still has her rules and we must follow them - which is perfectly fine with us.  :)

We don't expect to be able to place this pair, due to Elyse's extreme high-maintenance ways.  But we are happy to have them spend the rest of our lives with us.  Now if we could only come up with a way to ensure that visitors will listen when we ask them not to put their fingers into the critter's cages?!?!?  No, not children, they always listen well.  It's the adults who can't follow simple instructions!  So Elyse and Herbert reside in our upstairs room where visitors aren't allowed.  Egads, would you believe that visitors not being able to listen to simple instructions is the only "problem" with having Elyse around?!?  HA!  

Update September, 2008:  We're so sorry to announce that Herbert died recently.  Our buddy Herbert...what a guy!  Herb died in his sleep after only seeming a bit "off" for maybe 72 hours...so suddenly in fact we weren't even sure if we were imagining things when we thought he just didn't seem right.  His gal Elyse was right next to him when we found him...hey, passing gently in sleep is the best we can all hope for, 'eh?  We're so sorry to say goodbye to our special little friend, who was such a fixure in our home.  Elyse is doing well...she still doesn't want to make friends yet, but we're going to keep trying.  So long Herbert-Berbert.  

Update December, 2008:  At long last...would you believe...drum roll please...Elyse is now part of our social play group!  WOO HOO!!!  How did we accomplish this miracle you ask?  Well, it's a brand new day for our little friend.  You see, Elyse has always had a chordoma at the end of her tail.  Finally it was time to come off, as it had grown unmanageably large, so off she went for surgery.  Well, our little Miss came home in an e-collar so she wouldn't bother her stitches.  As we were considering whether she would be able to eat and drink in the collar, we noticed something she could NOT do in the collar:  start a fight!  HA!  You see, Elyse believes in "preemptive strikes."  She wants to be Boss Lady and thinks others will start a fight with her, so she strikes first - thereby starting the fight!  Oh, why can't we all learn what a bad idea preemptive strikes are...sigh...Elyse remained firmly in the 30% club of folks who stubbornly feel preemptive is the way to go and thus she couldn't make friends!  Well, we thought once her ability to strike was gone, potential friends could go about trying to make friends with her...but would it work?  We called in the heavy artillery:  Ambassadors Beaker and Teri, and sure enough it worked!  Beaks and Taco (Teri's nickname) just ignored her and did their thing, sleeping together in her cage while she slept alone, playing together while she was out with them just looking on...small first steps, but important steps and over time, carefully introducing her to certain critters in order of friendliness to others, she joined the ranks and is now a happy, playful member of the group!  We are THRILLED TO BITS about this change for Elyse, for surely social beasties have a better experience at the Shelter.  Elyse and Herbert were so much a Ying-N-Yang, always playing together and enjoying time with each other more than with hooman beans, but of course now that Herb is gone Elyse would deserve more hooman attention, which there is never enough of around here.  So now she has friends and with fewer playtimes in the Shelter we're able to spend more time with the critters in general, so this change is indeed great for our special friend.  As of 1/1/09 Elyse is 8 years old with no signs of health issues - which you might already know is quite amazing!  We're looking forward to many more years of fun with our good friend.  :)

Update June, 2009:  would you believe our beloved Miss Elyse has found a home?  YAY!  Elyse turned 8 on 1/1/09 and we thought she had better try for a home while she has time left to enjoy it!  So we asked our dear friends the Neubauers, who have adopted more than 30 ferrets from the Shelter over the years, to see if Elyse could get along with their crew.  Since their crew is always 15+ strong, we figured she'd find a friend in there somewhere!  Well sure enough, Elyse settled in and only gets into snits with a couple of the young boys.  :)  We're delighted, since our dear Elyse is certainly getting up there in age and all our weezils deserve a home of their own!!!

Leigh: Surrendered June, 2008: Not sure how to classify this situation...read on... 

In June, a woman e-mailed saying she recently got a ferret from her neighbor. She didn't know a thing about ferrets and had lots to learn fast, so we invited her over for a visit. She said that her neighbor kept the ferret in a cage in the backyard and that's how the woman got the ferret...I guess that means the neighbor also let the ferret come and go? The woman who brought Leigh said she too was letting her come and go in and out of the dog door as she pleased! !!! Since Leigh was returning to her home she didn't see any problem with letting her come and go...sigh...but of course that's no way to keep a ferret! Leigh had fleas and was filthy, but of course the real danger is getting too far from home to get back and either starving to death or becoming lunch for a larger critter! The woman who brought Leigh didn't seem to keen on hearing she couldn't keep her like a dog and was in general not exactly willing to learn...when we mentioned that Leigh would need vaccinations and so forth, the woman didn't seem keen on spending any money on her either. So of course we offered to accept Leigh and that was that - and we're SO glad she's here! Sure enough, for the first couple of days Leigh was very scared and stayed right near us hooman beans all the time. We reckon she must have figured out that she needs to be near a hooman bean for food and so forth, and that must be why she just didn't get curious and wander off in her previous situations. Fortunately Leigh is young and we always have many nice weezils afoot who love to make new friends, so in no time Leigh made herself some new buddies and was off to have lots of fun in our large social play group. "Leigh the Flea" (since she came in with fleas...always original, the folks at MCF ha) was lucky enough to find a great new home in March, 2009. She joins Hubert, Heinrich and Anastasia in a super home where we know she will be spoiled rotten! YAY!

Smudge:  Surrendered October, 2007:  ferret found stray, history unknown, unwanted by Samaritan

Smudge was brought in by a fellow who said his co-worker found him stray 2.5 months before.  This fellow kept Smudge to see if he could find a home for him, having been involved in dog rescue in the past.  Unfortunately Smudge had been confined to the garage during his stay, but he seemed none the worse for wear when he was brought in - if only a bit thin.  So obviously we have no history for Smudge, although we reckon he might be an adventurous sort!  :)  Smudge is such a fun little fellow, but he has officially decided to stay a Single Ferret forever!  He goes NUTS if there's another ferret within his reach and will try to dominate them right on through the floor!  Smudge is such a fun little guy, we aren't sure why he hasn't figured out that life would be more fun with friends his size, but hey - he amuses himself quite well and is very happy.  We were THRILLED TO BITS to FINALLY see Smudge off to a great new home in February, 2009!  Our dear friend joins a household that has adopted many, many times - including many special needs ferrets - so we know he's going to be spoiled to bits and truly happy in his super new home!

Chanel:  Surrendered June, 2008, Owner Surrender:  generally unwanted

Chanel came in with buddy Charles, along with Eileen, Johnny and Julie.  We know the pair were the original ferrets in the home, and it seems the other trio were late additions.  Sadly the trio arrived in horrible shape - with urine burned feet!  Fortunately Chanel and Charles were in much better shape, save for Chanel's missing fur!  :)  Charles and Chanel joined our social crew quickly, but Chanel decided that she wanted to be Queen of the Shelter!  She appointed herself Supreme Toy Manager, which means she gets to stash ALL the toys in her preferred spot each and every day hee hee.  But her high-falutin', bossy attitude sometimes caused conflict, as you can imagine some of our other guests didn't get a vote and they don't always appreciate her up-turned nose!  HA!  Chanel was a popular girl during her stay, mainly because she was one of the tiniest girls in ferret-dom yet always displayed SUCH attitude to her admirers!  Chanel was lucky enough to find a wonderful new home in November, 2008.  She joins a LARGE crew with good friends of the Shelter; a crew always at least 15 strong.  And wouldn't you know Chanel moved in and took over immediately?  She appointed herself Queen and took up her place as a pair with the resident King, with the monarchs always sleeping together and managing things.  HA!  We're delighted Chanel has found her perfect place where everyone just lets her lord around all day without a care!  :)

Hubert & Heinrich:  Surrendered April, 2008 to the Westland Branch of the Michigan Humane Society, transferred to Motor City Ferrets.  Owner Surrender, no history

Hubert & Heinrich were surrendered with pal Halle.  However, Halle left the boys behind because Hubert pestered her so.  You see, Hubert has adrenal disease and all those extra sex hormones were causing him to be far too amorous with Halle.  D'oh!  Of course our modern domestic ferret was neutered at 3-4 weeks old, leaving them woefully without much knowledge about the process, so Hubert mostly just annoyed Halle by sucking on her ears.  HA!  Since Hubert doesn't behave that way around Heinrich we decided they should stick together as best pals.  The pair are very social, but Hubert tends to piss off potential friends by sucking on their ears WAY too much. Fortunately Hubert decided that not ALL ears need to be sucked raw, so when he had a chance for a home he did his best to make friends with his potential new pal and off the pair went in November, 2008!  Now part of a trio, Hubert and Heinrich are very happy in their great new home and we couldn't be happier for them!

Kim:  Surrendered April, 2008, Parents of Owner Surrendered:  20ish owner didn't want, left with Parents

Our dear little friend Kim...all we know about her past is her lifelong buddy died a few months before she was left for someone else to worry about...must have been sad times for her.  :(  Fortunately this little spunk has tons of positive energy and she is a happy little gal!  Kim is extremely playful and nothing seems to get her down.  Don't let her photo fool you, she really is a happy little thing (she looks like an attack dog in her photo, doesn't she?  HA).  Kim has adrenal disease and when she arrived she really didn't have enough fur for us to tell what color she was, but thanks to a melatonin implant she grew a new coat and our curiosity was satisfied!  :)  Kim is such a happy spunky...she often bounces around the house like the floor has been electrified HA!  We were delighted when Kim finally went to a great new home of her own in November, 2008.  She joins many MCF alumni and we know she's going to be very happy!

(Surrendered to Waters Wayward Weezils October, 2005 - transferred to Motor City Ferrets February, 2007) Selma & Patty sure are something else. We don't have very good information on this crew, but here's what we know: another local shelter, Waters Wayward Weezils (now closed) told us that they took in some ferrets from a backyard breeder situation. All were unsocialized and thus most were afraid of humans and bad biters. We know this lot was brought to the other shelter and fixed in Fall, 2005. Then they stayed in the other shelter until the shelter closed in February, 2007. We're not sure if the girls socialized with others, if they were used to regular playtime…unfortunately the shelter Director was not available to give us any more information. Selma and Patty came in with Jester and Ariel.  Miss Ariel was fortunate enough to find a new home rather quickly.  Meanwhile, we started to suspect that Patty might be Jester and Selma's daughter - based on Jesters, um, affections for Selma (HA - not to worry, everyone is fixed now) and their treatment of Patty - along with their color combinations.  We're not sure, but in any case Jester was also lucky enough to find himself a new home in July, 2007, leaving Selma and Patty to continue on their quest for a new home.

Selma is quite a handful.  She has become very accustomed to living only with Patty, whom she protects and manages far too much.  Meanwhile, we're not sure what to make of Patty.  She seems to have panic attacks, during which she can really upset a hooman bean with some serious bites (serious for a 2# critter, of course).  We think both of these girls might have suffered from poor breeding and keeping for quite some time, which is going to take them a long time to get past.  

So would you believe these two extra special, high-maintenance ladies were able to find a wonderful new home?  Oh, we were absolutely thrilled...for surely if they hadn't been adopted by their family they would surely have lived their lives at our Shelter.  The gals went home with Lee of KreativeLee Krafted Ferrety Finery, and her husband John.  Actually the girls are John's special project!  HA!  These two will likely never socialize with others and Patty is still completely unpredictable, but their new Dad is absolutely devoted to giving them a wonderful life.  It's a tall order and tough job, but we know that Super-Pa John is up to the challenge - and we will be forever greatful to the Julians for taking on such special little gals! 

Update:  Patty passed away quietly in July, 2010.  She had such a happy life in her adoptive home...we're sorry to see her go, but we're so glad she got to enjoy such a wonderful life with such understanding parents!  :)

(Surr Mar 06) Snuffleupagus & Minerva are truly special weezils.  We first heard about them via an e-mail from their owner.  She continued to send e-mails over a several month period, which was very frustrating since it was clear that she was not taking good care of either critter.  Over the course of the e-mails we learned that the owner became pregnant when Minerva was about 5.  We're not sure if the owner paid any attention to Minerva before becoming pregnant, but it was clear that she didn't plan to during the pregnancy or after.  So this owner decided to buy a baby ferret and chuck him in with Minerva to "keep her company."  Great idea, huh?  Sure, toss an infant in with a 5 year old who hasn't been around ferrets since she left her own litter!  Sheesh!  Anyway, the owner complained that the two really didn't get along, and they both had health issues.  Minerva had her spleen removed a couple of years previously...for no apparent reason?  Ok...meanwhile, Gus had been having problems since she brought him home.  She described that he had "asmtha."  Alrighty...so the owner kept sending these wishy-washy e-mails about her "poor ferrets" who never got out of their cage because hey, she was pregnant!  Then after the kid was born the new excuse was that it wasn't safe to have the ferrets around the baby, and by the way they were both sick as well...for pete's sake, each and every reply from us was "Bring them over and surrender!"  It seemed the months of e-mails were meant to assuage the owner's guilt over her clear lapse of personal responsibility, which is of course not something we're very worried about.  We were extremely worried about the ferrets, and it was a relief to receive them in early 2006.  Sure enough, Minerva is a bit of a grannie, but she's still a spunky monkey.  As for Gus, well you can see in the inset photo how he's been dealing with his troubles!  Poor fellow always has extremely labored breathing, so he hangs his face on the cage bars to be able to breathe easier during sleep.  That's right, the top right photo is not staged at all - that's how he made himself comfortable!  :)  We took Gus to a specialist and to our own vet, neither of which could figure out what is wrong with him.  He can smell and swallow, so his nose and throat work, but why the labored breathing?  Well, in spite of his issues Gus managed to be one spunky fellow.  He would pounce and play and when he got winded, he'd simply dash off to a quiet corner to catch his breath.  Gus gained weight and stamina each and every day; such a trooper to handle his serious issues so well!  Meanwhile, Gus and Minerva always slept together, so although they live life at different speeds, we decided to keep them together.  We were so happy to find this special pair a great new home in April, 2006!  They joined a crew of 4 and were having fun in no time.  And would you believe that by July, 2006, Gus's continuing weight gain and increased stamina seemed to be the reason he stopped having his breathing troubles!  He packed on about a pound of muscle and stopped hanging his face, stopped the panting/heavy breathing and became the monster he's always wanted to be!  We still have no idea what his actual trouble is or what the future will hold, but for now we're just delighted at his new found happiness.  YAY!  

Update:  Sadly, Miss Minerva passed away quietly in January, 2007.  She was so happy and beloved in her new home, we're so grateful that she at least had a happy last few months.  'Erva was a special gal and will be missed.  

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