Residents

It all started for me (Shelter Mom Nanci) back in 1996 when I decided that I'd find myself a ferret friend. I searched everywhere I could think of for a shelter but couldn't find one, so off I went to the pet shop. Yoda chose me, graciously allowing me to take him home! :) I figured out right quick that I knew very little about ferrets and got busy researching on the internet. The first thing I decided was that Yoda needed a buddy, so off we went to find Clyde. Clyde took one look at Yoda and fell upon his belly in adulation and worship, which Yoda thought was just fine, thanks! The two boys became the absolute best of friends, and thus began my severe case of ferret math! :)

A couple of months later, my searching 'round the internet talking with other ferret folks caused me to receive a phone call about a couple of ferrets needing a home. Of course I couldn't say no, so along came Sven and Leia. Both had reportedly been booted out of breeding because they had cataracts. Sven was my first biter and did I ever have to learn quickly! He was one terrified fear biter, but about a month of intensive loving led to Sven becoming the biggest teddy bear ferret you'll ever meet! Leia took her time becoming happy as well...took about 9 months before I ever saw her dance, but eventually she did get happy!

In 1997 we found our family growing with the additions of Sophie, who lived with the gang (known as the Fab Five), Rhett & Floyd (bonded pair that didn't like other ferrets) and Sparticus (single fellow who REALLY didn't like other ferrets). Eight was certainly enough, but I still found it hard to say no and took in a few rescues from time to time. When I was able to I found them new homes myself; other times I took them to another local shelter. As time went by I developed a habit of bringing home the hard cases from another local shelter and by 1998 had quite a few permanent residents who had one issue or another. 1999 was perhaps the "worst" year as far as critter overload...at one point I had 14 critters in 8 separate playtimes! I was working full time so I always felt guilty about not being able to spend enough time with all of my special critters individually.

In early 2000 I decided to open up my own shelter, taking all who were in need no matter their circumstance. I also developed a foster program to help special beasties into great homes, since my time was so limited it was often unfair to all the critters! 2000 was a very hectic year since I still had so many sick'uns and otherwise challenged beasties to devote special attention to, but we saw several critters off to great new homes so I was very happy at year end to reflect at what we had been able to accomplish. (Left photo: Nanci and brother Alex for the Frazier family Xmas photo, plus the original gang o' five. Right: Favorite pic of Rhett and Floyd.

2001 continued to be very hectic. I continued to have success finding super homes for many of my ferrets, which was both nerve wracking (as you can imagine) and rewarding! Towards the end of 2001 I welcomed five new friends into my home and - BONUS - one of them was a hooman bean! Alex and his critters Chewie, Sophie, Samantha and Pfeiffer joined our little operation in late 2001 when we moved to Oak Park. The shelter continued forth, welcoming more and more critters everyday. Alex quickly learned all about caring for the masses, while managing to lavish each critter with some special lovin'.

Alex’s furry journey began in 1995 with Samantha. She captivated him with her gaze, which I learned the power of later. :) Paige came along to befriend Sam, then Pfeiffer, Chewie, Sophie and Sassy. Alex found Pfeiffer in a shelter in Colorado. He had no plans to come home with a ferret the day he visited…but we all know how that is! :) The shelter warned Alex that Pfeiffer had been badly neglected and was a severe biter. He didn’t let that little tidbit stop him, of course. Soon he discovered for himself how NOT to handle Miss Pfeiff-ster. She tore his lip open on the way home! But of course no ferret is beyond help (they’re only a couple of pounds, don’t ‘ya know), so he quickly taught her life was pretty good and she was a sweetie pie ever after.

Alex then returned to the shelter for “one more ferret” – but of course he came home with 2! Chewie and Sophie are brother and sister. They were 5 weeks old when he brought them home. We’re not sure why breeder ferrets were in a shelter at 5 weeks old, but anyway…Chewie was so young his legs weren’t working right yet, so he would drag around on the floor making a grunting/whining noise. But soon enough these two troublemakers became ferrets of legend. Chewie was one of the highest maintenance ferrets I’ve ever met. He was the top athlete in my experience, which now includes at least 500 ferrets. He’s one ahead of my Yoda, who remains the second highest maintenance ferret I’ve ever met, due to his athletic ability. :) Sophie was a strange bird, and together the duo really made an impression over the years on Alex’s friends and family. Chewie was known in his youth to leap upon people for a bite even! HA!

From January of 2000 until March of 2002 we said goodbye to all of our personals except Chewie and Sophie. Alex never met Yoda, Clyde, Sven, Leia, my Sophie or Rhett. He met Spart at the very end of his life and got to know Floyd a bit as well. I never met Sassy or Paige, but I did have a little time with Pfeiffer and Samantha. Sam had this habit of gazing at a human until the human decided to comply with her wishes (SNACKS). Her staring was the strangest behavior…she would lock her gaze on the target human, then hunker down for the long haul, then continue to gaze without distraction – or blinking – for sooo long!

I think I formally decided not to keep any more "personal" ferrets sometime in 2001, after running the rescue for a year or so. Once the rescue was up and running my home was officially a group home where everyone had to jockey for human attention, I decided it really wasn't fair to keep critters who could find a great home of their own. Additionally, there are many critters who will never be adopted for one reason or another. When it looks like a critter might end up staying around we always try to give them more of a home/family setting, and of course our oldsters who will spend their twilight time with us always get lots of TLC.

So Chewie and Sophie became our only two "personal ferrets" until late 2002. They were "Weezils of Legend" due to their personalities and daily antics. :) Then one day Ashley arrived and things truly changed for the better. Ashley was perhaps 6 months old when she was surrendered. Within a very short time we noticed that Ashley was becoming everyone's best friend: from the truly spunky monsters who really want to throw down, to the fraidy, newly arrived critter who doesn't know what's up, to the geriatric oldster who just wants a friend to sleep with, Ashley was friend to all. She was especially adept in helping those critters whose world is turned upside down when they find themselves at our place. If only people would realize how horrible it can be for critters to lose their home!!! Then in December of 2003 we decided to add another ambassador to the mix Albert was also a rescue and he and Ashley made quite the WonderWeezils for all the new critters to meet! Ashley was a big girl who was rarely physically dominated, so she could take on the ornery. Albert was a massively fluffy fellow who was also hard to physically dominate, but his charm was all sweetness and mush to everyone he met. The pair were our regular Shelter Ambassadors, going with us to all our public events and welcoming all the new comers. We'll be eternally grateful for the wonderful work they did!

In December, 2003, Alex and I finally bought our first home. We couldn’t afford much, so we found a home in Hazel Park that needed "some" work. But hey, since it's all cosmetic it shouldn't take long, 'eh? So we thought and were we ever wrong! HA! So our house continues to show off some of the previously lovely 1978 remodel it had while we labor away, learning all about remodeling as we go. :) Alex and I continue to work incredibly hectic schedules and with 30-60 critters constantly afoot, we have precious little "free time." But we're all comfy here with lots of room and eventually things will get done. :) Our beloved Chewbacca, Sophie's brother and lifetime pal, left us in February, 2005. Sophie handled the loss like a champ and enjoyed her new status as "House Ferret" with all sorts of new freedom. You see, Chewie was never allowed to run the house unsupervised, due to his remarkable athletic ability. Sophie was much more predictable, so we could trust her to be by herself.

In December, 2004, we adopted a dog from a local rescue. Jeremy was such a delight to have around. He was 11 when we adopted him and because his ears hadn't been kept clean, he had gone deaf. After getting to know him we realized that he wouldn't have listened to us very well even if he could have heard us. ;)~ Jeremy never did like the ferrets. I always thought he just wanted to be the only critter in the world. Jeremy was definitely a Mama's boy, and he had a serious love affair going on with snacks. Most of his time was spent trying to obtain one snack or the other, but he also found time in his day to obtain butt scratches from all our visitors. :)

2005 brought some difficult times. In June we suffered an outbreak of coccidia (an intestinal parasite) in the Shelter. Many strains of coccidia don't do much more to a critter than give them an upset tummy for a while. Sadly the strain that our critters had was much more severe and it proved lethal for several. Of the 42 ferrets in the shelter when the outbreak began, we lost 7 to the dread parasite. The casualties included both of our beloved girls, Sophie and Ashley - which shows you the random nature of the trouble, with Sophie and older gal but Ashley in the prime of her life and healthy. So not only was the entire ordeal devastating for our gang, we were also extra personally sad to have to say goodbye to our gals. Of course Albert had tons of other friends so he didn't seem to be too stressed out after Ashley died...but we just knew that things wouldn't be the same for him. Ashley was the alpha of their pair and she took on the truly troubled newcomer, while Albert would hang back and wait until Ashley had made a breakthrough. :) So we decided it was time for a retirement home for Albert The Fluffy, and after careful consideration he was adopted by good friends of the Shelter. We knew he would live out his life in spoiled rotten luxury and we could be able to visit him often. Losing both Ashley and Albert left us without Shelter Ambassadors for a time and we wondered if we could ever find anyone as skilled as our beloved Ashley...???

Late in 2005 we welcomed a new rescue critter, Zeke. It didn't take long for us to start thinking that Zeke might be able to pick up Ashley's old "job" of welcoming new critters. After a few months we were sure that Zeke has that perfect personality for the job, so he became our newest Shelter Ambassador! Zeke was then joined by a new partner in crime in Spring, 2006. Miss Stacey was a wee little lady but oh, what a personality! Together these two special friends did a bang up job meeting new friends, and we were delighted that we once again had helpers of the weezil variety for all our newly arrived, stressed out critters! Of course they also did a great job meeting and greeting folks at public events.

In Spring, 2006 we said goodbye to our poochie friend Jeremy. He went quickly and we were terribly upset over his passing. I had grown so used to having a canine shadow that I really had a hard time saying goodbye, and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to have another dog any time soon. But then fate stepped into our lives yet again. Our good friend, who was also Jeremy's groomer, sent an e-mail the morning we had to take Jeremy in for his final vet visit. She had just found out that her friend had gone into a nursing home and her pooch only had 2 weeks to find a new home! So Jake, the 9 year old Cocker Spaniel, needed a home. Alex and I thought that fate must be in control of the situation, so we met him a few days later. He instantly fit right into our lives, so we figured there was no reason in the world that he couldn't stay with us! And thus we had a new Cocker in our lives. In the photo at left, Jake was sporting his "Before" look, when he still weighed 33#. After we got him we helped him to get down to his ideal weight of 22-24#, and we lamented how tubby he was when we met him. But then we learned that prior to leaving his former owner's home he had weighed over 50#!!! Holy fat cocker spaniel! So for the first few months that he was with us Jake really was "aging in reverse," as he lost all that weight and rebuilt his physical fitness. Why, he even started jumping off the bed like Super Dog! Jake was a generally happy fellow; but good grief was he a Mama's boy. He would always give a LOUD welcome to all visitors, but fortunately he was only interested in alerting, not doing any harm. In the inset photo, you can see what happened to Jake when I had too much time on my hands one day hahaha (August, 2007).

In September, 2006, we had another new friend make her way to our place: Motor the Cat! We first noticed Miss Motor while we were sitting on our front porch one summer day. We noticed a wee little cat across the street...??? Of course I walked over to investigate. When I did, I couldn't believe how LOUDLY she was hollering for some attention! Of course, since I am a SUCKER, she came in the house and the rest is history. She was 4 months old when we found her and we hoped she would easily mix and mingle with the ferrets, but I'm afraid she had other plans. Motor always has her purr motor turned up to maximum and likes to yell at us frequently, so her name - although a bit silly - was easy and appropriate. The photo at right was taken at Xmas 2006. That's Jake, looking all svelte, plus our Ambassadors Zeke and Stacey. As you can see, as Zeke got older all his color fell off! Motor was too afraid of strangers at the time to join in the photo. :)

At left, Shelter Dad Alex exhibits with volunteers and some critters from the Shelter at Pet-A-Palooza at the Palace in 2007

Late in 2007, our Ambassador Zeke started not acting himself. He always wanted to snuggle and wouldn't play much...seemed like he was pretty much over the life of a Shelter Ambassador! So we decided it was time for Zeke and Stacey to retire. Our Ambassadors always have several home options at the ready, and when we learned of an opening at Albert's Retirement Castle (or that's what we call our friend's home, ha ha...the same home Albert retired to), we decided to take it! So Zeke and Stacey retired in November, 2007 and we found ourselves once again on the hunt for new Shelter Ambassadors. We did have a couple of critters helping out during the transitional period, such as Arianna and Lynette. The girls did a pretty good job and certainly made an effort, but it takes such a special personality to help welcome the truly troubled into our Shelter family from the weezil perspective, and Arianna and Lynette just didn't seem to have that certain...something that Ashley and Zeke had. Now of course you might be wondering why we didn't have new Ambassadors at the ready before Zeke and Stacey retired? Just so happens we considered critters for months and months but no one exactly fit the bill. And on a sad note, former Ambassador Albert passed in February, 2008. He had such a great life in his retirement home and he even got to live for a time with Zeke and Stacey...but we still miss that big fluff wad o' love.

In July 2008 we welcomed a critter that was the spitting image of our Zeke in both looks and personality, so we named him Beaker. For some reason Shelter Dad Alex decided his nickname would be "The Roast." ??? Oh, silliness abounds around here...sigh...hahaha Anyway, before long Beaks was proving our original impression correct and he assumed the mantle of being our long-sought newest Shelter Ambassador! Oh, we were so relieved to once again have a skilled weezil afoot to help out. Then in September, 2008 we welcomed an adorable little sprite we called Teri. Alex decided her nickname would be "Taco." What is with him??? Anyway, within a couple of weeks we knew we had something special in our little Taco. Over the next couple of months she showed most impressive skills, even rivaling our Ashley in the friend making department! Oh, to have another critter as skilled as Ashley...we were SO thrilled to once again have such a qualified weezil helping out all our truly downtrodden guests!

In July, 2009, we exhibited at Pet-A-Palooza at the Palace, the a large all-Shelter adoption event. The event was 2 days, plus a day for setup, and our booth was just across the way from another booth where we noticed a strange looking pooch while we were setting up. Then while we were exhibiting over the weekend I struck up a conversation with the gal that ran the Shelter at the booth across the way. I thought the scraggly little poodle with her was a personal pet; he was so calm and, well, sort of out of it, I figured he was just there to meet some adoring public. Indeed he was, but when she told me that his name was Russel, he was older than dirt and he was certainly looking for a home...well, you might be able to predict what happened next! HA! Oh Russel...what a character. The photo at left is how he looked when he was dumped at Detroit Animal Control, some three years before the rescue saved him from certain death. After all, incredibly old dogs that look so scraggly are rarely adopted...sigh...fortunately he was taken in by the rescue group, but he hadn't had any luck finding a permanent home. You see, we have no idea how old Russel was but it was clear he was at least 27. HA! Oh poor Russ...he was older than dirt, very little flexibility left, had only two tiny little worn down teeth left (so his tongue poked out all the time), he really couldn't see or hear well, he had dementia and would have seizures...but he would still try his best to be frisky! I'm always drawn to the geezers...I just can't abide how ignored they are by society. So Alex and I decided to offer Russel a home with us. We figured our home was quiet enough for him to enjoy. At the rescue he was often lost in the pack, so to speak, as the group would welcome new dogs and send others to new homes. We had a meet and greet with Jake and the ferrets, and Jake ignored Russ and Russ ignored the ferrets, so we were all set! hahaha Russel was so old and clearly had dementia, and he would have seizures from time to time. But he would also wag his tail at least 10 times per day (seriously hahaha), prance for at least 4 minutes a day and even leap up onto the couch to curl up - after thinking about how to do it for only about 10 minutes! hahaha We really enjoyed having Russel around. Sure he was out of it most of the time, but we really think he enjoyed greeting visitors on Open House days and snuggling up with the hooman beans for some lovins. He and Jake had an understanding and Motor eventually got over his being with us...such a drama queen! Russ was with us for just over a year. He was such a funny fellow; our only regret is that we didn't meet him earlier in his life. But we are so happy to have made his last year a special one. Truly this handsome devil deserved no less than to spent his twilight time loved and treated properly.

When we first met our Jake Pooch he had lost one eye to glaucoma. Sadly in 2010 the disease claimed his other eye and he became blind. At the same time age caught up with him and he lost most of his hearing, leaving him generally confused. He would still do his best to bark when someone came over, but sometimes it took him a while to figure out someone new was in the house! Motor tried to play with Jake time to time, but he had NO interest, thanks very much. Dear Jake spent about three years as an oooooooooooooold man, just as grouchy as he could be hahaha. But he still enjoyed time with his Mom and chews and such, and of course many, many naps! Jake's story finally came to an end in May of 2012. We met our Jake just about a week after my Aunt's dog Jake passed. He was perhaps the most loveable dog EVER, and he lived to be a very, very old man, so I knew him for a long time. We decided to name our Jake in honor of our other friend Jake. Although he didn't show as much love to stranger as his namesake, our Jake did do his best given his situation. We enjoyed our time with him and we're glad to have helped him out in his golden years...and we miss him.

Roast and Taco became very popular during their stay. I'd be hard pressed to list all the critters they helped... so very many ferrets were reassured and befriended by our dear Taco. And just like it was with Ashley and Albert, Taco was the tough one, while Roast would come in after she had made inroads to be the gentle friend. Sadly we had to say goodbye to former Ambassador Zeke in February, 2010 (with Alex in the photo at right). He was just 5, but over his last 2 years illness had aged him far beyond his numerical age. He was so spoiled in his retirement home and we got to visit with him often, but it's still difficult to remember he's not around anymore. As for Roast and Taco, they were incredibly successful Ambassadors and remained beloved members of our family until January, 2011, when we decided that - despite their great skills - it really was getting to be time for them to retire. You see, critters only have the truly magnanimous personality they need to succeed as Ambassadors for the first portion of their life...after age 3 or so they get a bit more set in their ways and don't have as much patience! hahaha As it happened there was another opening at Albert's Retirement Castle, so once again our good friends adopted Roast and Taco. They joined retired Ambassador Miss Stacy and other friends, and of course we have visitation rights!

Fortunately new recruits were coming in daily, and we soon settled on a new pair in the Fall of 2011. They didn't come in together, but both have such great attitudes that they were able to quickly get through Ambassador Training School and begin working hard to make all the other weezils in our population happier! Miss Maggie came in as a stray. Poor thing stuck her nose in the wrong plant, for she was just covered with tics! Thus her nickname will forever be "Tick" and variations on same. As for our boy, before I tell you his name I must tell you how excited I was to finally bestow one of our critters with my most favorite weezil name EVER! First you must know two things: a ferret with his coloring is called a sable. Second: I am a lifelong...admirer (the word hardly seems worthy of my deep feelings) of Clark Gable. Years ago I heard this name and I just couldn't get over it. But on whom would I bestow such an honorific? Well, imagine our boy: he came in as an emaciated infant! Truly baby size, maybe 10 weeks old...he was pitiful in frame but honestly, what's cuter than a baby face? Thus I decided I would likely never meet a more handsome sable, thus I could finally use the name I've had in reserve for probably 10 years now. Yep, you guessed it: Clark Sable! Oh, I can't stand it! hahaha In the photos at left, Maggie isn't done growing her fur back. You see, wee had to shave her head/face/neck/chest to make sure we got all the ticks off - even after 3 med treatments! Clark is perhaps 3 months old in his photo. In the photos at right, both Maggie and Clark are all grown up and in the fabulous winter coats in 2011. Sadly, just about the same time Maggie and Clark arrived at the Shelter in 2011, Miss Stacey went off to the Rainbow Bridge. She lived to be an moderately old lady and she had such a wonderful life - we'll always miss that little sprite.

In January, 2012, we had a big surprise - or should I say a very small surprise - when a neighbor showed up with a pitiful little abandoned puppy. Weighing in at only 4.5#, the little pup looked like an old grannie since she had never been groomed (left most photo). After protesting that we don't rescue dogs, damnit, Shelter Dad Alex took one look at the pitiful pup and he melted into a puddle of goo. That was about it, I figured this little girl is never leaving! Sure enough she stayed, and what a wonderful addition she has been to our family. The night we met Arya she was thin, dehydrated, exhausted and so frightened. It took us 3 hours to shave off all the matted fur and she tried her best to just sleep through all the fuss and bother (second left photo, after her first amateur haircut). Finally our wee lass was revealed. she was so little we choose the name of a Game of Thrones character which means "Little Underfoot." She is also affectionately called The Great Noodle from time to time. It was such fun watching this little neglected pup learn what life is all about. And before we knew it, after only a couple of months, she had blossomed into a 12# mighty dog! Today she is very athletic and she just loves to play with the ferret. Right photos: playing with her friend Autumn, and exploring the shores of Lake Superior. Most often she tries to carry the ferrets around as they try to evade her. She also loves to play with the weezils when they're tunneling along in the tubes. Puppies are an awful lot of work and for her first year not only did she eat her own poop very often, but she made sure to poop in the house overnight and then carry pieces over to the couch for comfy snacking. HA! But we love this little runt and are so glad that finally one of our non-ferret pets actually likes our ferrets!

Maggie and Clark served as wonderful Shelter Ambassadors for rather respectable terms. But, as with all Ambassadors, eventually the day comes when they must retire. That day came for both of our special friends in 2013. The two stuck together as they moved to a new home with dear friends of the Shelter, so we will get to visit with them often! Meanwhile, Clark and Maggie's retirement meant we were once again on the hunt for new Shelter Ambassadors. Mr. Vince (at left) took over the mantle of leadership very quickly after he joined our crew. Ordinarily, weezils must go through Ambassador Training School to obtain the highest rank in our herd: Shelter Ambassador. But Vince decided to leapfrog the rest of the crew by becoming Arya's best friend! Fortunately, Vince is also highly skilled when it comes to welcoming new ferrets to the shelter.

Motor City Ferrets celebrated it's 15th Birthday on April 1, 2015. As we look back over the years, we're still amazed at how many critters have passed through the Shelter. Rescued ferret #1000 arrived in July, 2014. We've made so many wonderful friends along the way as well, and of course we couldn't do what we do without them! Alex and I always had the milestones of either 10 years or 1000 rescued ferrets in our minds...but now that we've passed both, we're not sure how much longer we'll have the energy to keep running the Shelter. But you know, until some other Shelters pop up we do feel pressured to consider where Metro Detroit's wayward weezils go without Motor City Ferrets? Ah, we continue to be hopeful for the future...you just never know what will happen! And that's it from us for now; just a bit o' history about the folks & critters of Motor City Ferrets. :)