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! 

12/12/20:  We currently have 23 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: 1204

   The shelter is currently closed for normal, in-person visits.  During the closure we will continue to accept surrenders, offer boarding services, and our shop is open for mail or porch pick up orders.  

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, when schools shut.  Remember that we operate in our home, and ferrets can contract Covid-19, so right now there's no safe way for us to get back to social visits.

ADOPTION:  If you're interested in adopting, visit the Adoption tab above and submit and adoption application.  Note for folks new to ferrets:  we firmly believe that a meet-n-greet, during which time you can visit with the ferrets - and this is most important for families with kids - is essential for people to make the right decision to add ferrets to their family.  During the pandemic, there just is no way for us to safely have humans in to visit, so we've had to rule out adoptions to folks who've never had ferrets for the time being.  Be patient, and eventually all this madness will come to an end, and then we'll be able to have folks over again.  Things just kept getting worse in 2020, so all our best laid plans to do business were waylaid as soon as we thought them up, but 2021 looks to be a different story, what with vaccines coming online and all.  We expect to be able to meet outside soon as the weather turns, so stay tuned!  

If you already have ferrets and you're approved for adoption, we'll be conducting some drop off / virtual visits in January and February.  Something like drop off your ferrets for a day or two, we'll handle the introductions and narrow down to a couple of good candidates to be friends to your ferrets, then a virtual visit in which you can meet the candidates and see everyone playing together, and then a pickup with some paperwork completed on our front porch.  Note:  we're not terribly confident with our virtual plan for families with young children, for obvious reasons.  So if you have young kids, we really think it's best to wait until we can meet in person - perhaps outside once the weather turns - to make sure the ferret(s) you select are a good match for your family.  But for adults, we think our plan may work in many circumstances, and we'll be in touch to make arrangements specific to each case.  

SHOP:  Normally folks are welcome to come by during our Open House events to visit our Shelter Shop.  For the time being, you can peruse the selection of most goods in our Etsy shop (visit Supplies & Goodies tab above), then message to place an order for local pickup.  

VET CARE:  Our vet, North Hills Veterinary Hospital in Rochester Hills, is open for care now, but the office isn't taking new patients, and 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 vet, now is the time to do some planning.  On our Health page (link above) you'll find a list of SE Michigan's owner recommended ferret vets.  Call around and see who is still taking new clients at this time, so you'll know who to call if your critter needs care!

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

Visiting with the local ferret community is such an important part of our rescue mission, we've missed being able to have folks over!  With enough patience we'll all get through these trying times...stay tuned for updates on shelter ops as time moves along!