About Motor City Ferrets

Opened in the spring of 2000, Motor City Ferrets is a private, no-kill ferret shelter & rescue service.  We are registered as a Non-Profit Charity (501(c)(3)), licensed and annually inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.  Located in Hazel Park, we serve the greater Detroit metro area.  Browse our site to learn about the Shelter, meet the critters up for adoption, get health & care information, find supplies, or locate a vet or ferret-sitter! 

9/8/21:  We currently have 32 critters in the Shelter!

An old man was walking along a beach after a particularly high and violent tide had receded, leaving thousands of starfish stranded above the waterline to die. Up ahead of him, he saw a youth repeatedly bend down, stand, then fling something into the waves. Coming closer, he saw that the youth was tossing starfish back into the ocean.  "Why bother?" the old man told the youth. "There are thousands here. You can't toss them all back before they die. You can't even toss a small fraction of them back in time. What you're doing doesn't matter."  The youth pondered what the man said for a moment, looking at the starfish he held in his hand.  
   
"It matters to this one," he replied, and threw it back into the water.
 

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
- Gandhi

Rescue ONE until
there are NONE!

If you or someone you know plans to surrender a pet to a municipal type shelter, please click here.

Please don't breed or buy 
while pets in shelters die!

Ferrets rescued to date: 1231

Operations in the time of Covid-19 Update 

VISITS:  In normal times, we have Open House events most Sundays.  Open House dates are for folks to visit the shelter to play with the critters, bring their ferrets for a playdate, or if they're interested in adopting, to have a first visit after applying to adopt.  We closed for normal visits mid-March of 2020, and unfortunately it looks like we won't be opening up for social visits for the foreseeable future.  

ADOPTION:  we are having people in again to adopt now, but we are seriously backed up with appointments, so please be patient while we do our best to connect with everyone who has wanted to adopt in recent months.  The pandemic has presented our shelter with additional unique challenges, because ferrets as a species are an excellent vector for Covid-19.  

If you're interested in adopting, use the tab above to apply to adopt.  Note:  if you are not vaccinated, you shouldn't be coming into the shelter.  Since people have started faking vaccine records we're not sure how we could go about proving visitors have in fact been vaccinated.  We're taking safety measures that keep in mind some visitors might well not be, as well as hoping that most people are decent and honest, and those who are not vaccinated will respect our concerns and behave appropriately.  There is much that will remain unknown about Covid and ferrets, but we know enough to understand that it's a concern for our animals, as well as all the people who come into contact with them.

If you're invited for an adoption visit, remember that you'll need to properly mask up.  That means everyone in the family in fitted masks - no mask under your nose or hanging around your chin, we're not kidding with our safety precautions here at the shelter, and everyone who visits must participate fully.  Further, if you or a family member is immuno-compromised, visiting now is probably not the best idea.  Shelter Mom Nanci and Shelter Dad Alex are of course vaccinated, and we're able to be careful in our lives to a certain extent, but Alex is an elementary school teacher, and our ferrets routinely come and go, so we think it's possible that Covid could be afoot here without our knowledge at any time.  Same goes for bringing kids along to an appointment; since it seems like kids will be able to get vaxxed soon, we think it's best to wait to have any kids over until they too can be fully vaxxed.  

VET CARE:  Our vet, North Hills Veterinary Hospital in Rochester Hills, is open for care now, but only critters are allowed in the building.  Curbside service will see your critter(s) picked up from your car, then you and the vet can have a regular consult via phone.  We trust North Hills completely and are pleased to see them moving forward with a safe plan.  Keep in mind they have been absolutely overwhelmed with appointments, so for anything non-urgent it's likely you'll have to wait a few weeks to get in.  If the matter is urgent, best to call in as soon as the office opens at 8:00 am, to see if they can fit your critter in that same day.

If you don't have an established relationship with a vetnow is the time to do some planning, as many local vets are still not accepting new patients.  On our Health page (link above) you'll find a list of SE Michigan's owner recommended ferret vets.  Make some calls now to figure out which vet(s) in your area would see your ferret(s), should any of yours develop medical needs.

And of course we're always here for advice.  But remember to always call in to the shelter if the need is urgent!