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Help spread the word, help us make this a successful fundraiser. Sponsors and Donations for goodie bags needed and appreciated. Thank you!!
Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter Proudly Present the
2007 Blessing of the Cars
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Noon - 5 PM
Home Depot Parking Lot (Our thanks to Home Depot for allowing use of their lot)
10800 Brookpark Road
Brooklyn, OH 44130
Dash Plaques & Goodie Bags
50/50 Raffle
Music, Food & More!!
Trophies - Participant Judging
Best of Show
Best Paint
Best Engine
Best Interior
People's Choice - by popular vote
Enter early! Get a discount! All Cars and Owners Welcome!
All proceeds benefit Ferrets Unlimited ferret shelter, a non profit, no kill shelter new Building Fund (help us get our building)
For more information contact: Jean (Director & Car Enthusiast) 216/409-3849
To enter just send the following information with your entry fee:
Name, Address, City, State, Zip Code, Phone number and Email address.
You also need to include year, make model of your car.
Make checks Payable to: Ferrets Unlimited - Blessing of the Cars
4116 Bucyrus Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44109
Entry fee: $6.00 by April 1, 2007**
$10.00 at event
Entries will receive confirmation via email and snail mail
All early entries with paid registration will be put in a drawing for $100 cash!!Labels: blessing, car, car show, cars, classic, classic cars, fundraiser, hot rods, muscle car, muscle cars, show
Let's try this again, I screwed up the link, I was too excited, or not paying attention (my fingers have a mind of their own when typing) as of right now (1/26/07, 8:30 AM we are number 7)
Now I have a HUGE favor to ask all of you, click this link:
http://squidoo.com/org20
Find Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter, and click the up arrow. The more up clicks we get the higher the shelter goes, and it helps generate funds. But remember, when someone clicks the down arrow, it takes points away and we drop in ranking. So please help keep us in the top ten, please???? Vote often!!
You can't get any easier than that to help us raise some money. And you can click up as many times as your heart desires!
Please spread the word, too. Please?
Oh, and if you think about it, Squidoo Lenses are a great way to get some FREE publicity. SO, you can always click this link, BUILD A SQUIDOO LENS get started building a lens. If you build one using this link, it will be listed with our lenses, we get lots of traffic
You don't have to pick Ferrets Unlimited as your charity of choice! Those of you who run rescues, list your own rescue, the traffic we get can help you get more exposure!!
People who have items for sale, are in bands, run shelters, or just want to post about a hobby, this is a great place to do it, all point and click and it is free.
Thanks,
jeanLabels: 20, 59, chairty, lens, org, smart, squidoo, top, web
Yep, your read that right, only $5.99 shipping. The pieces are nice, and they are silver, not bad for those gifts that you forget. (I always try to have a couple "Just in case" gifts stashed.)
They look like they are more expensive. Perfect for everyday wearing or for that teenager that is constantly "borrowing" your jewelry, or loosing one of the two ear rings.
If you don't like this piece, click the link anyway, then click the home link and you will see the offerings for that moment, there will be four different pieces, and a link to show you what is coming up.
And you can look through the items that are upcoming, and have them send you an email when it is featured.Labels: earrings, free, free jewelry, jewelry, posts, rings
Rose from Little Feet Ferret Retreat is auctioning this off to help us!!
Isn't it awesome? Just click the following link: Little Feet Ferret Retreat
Thanks Rose!!!
This is Debi's experience with IKEA. A store I love and tote on their customer service.
Debi is a shelter supporter, AND a best friend, one day I was drooling over an entertainment center on IKEA. Not expensive you know, but it was on wheels, and could handle our big, old TV's weight.
She remembered, and thought that she would give me an IKEA gift card for Christmas to buy the entertainment center.
For her thoughtfulness, for her caring, for her wanting to give me a Christmas gift I truly wanted and could use, for all the good intentions, this is what she went through.
Oh yeah, and by the way, finding someone to email, or talk to about the problem is impossible. Did you know that the two people who handle customer complaints or problems do not have email? They want faxes.
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What’s with IKEA?
OK, all I ever hear from you (and others, as well) is how great IKEA is – great merchandise, great service, great prices, etc.
Well, let me tell you about my IKEA Direct experience. Are we talking about the same company?????
In late November, I ordered a gift card as a Christmas gift. Well, we might be able to chalk this up to UPS, who tried to deliver the thing to me twice at work (it had to have a signature, since the card was essentially cash, so I couldn’t have it sent to my house). At any rate, they claimed the address was insufficient, so the card ended up being returned to IKEA.
I contacted IKEA and asked them to re-send the card, this time with a painfully complete and detailed address. A few days later, I got the card.
About four days later, I got a SECOND card. Of course, I immediately checked my credit card account to be sure I hadn’t been charged twice. I hadn’t. Hmmmmm. I pondered. The card was going to my favorite animal shelter, which could no doubt use double the amount I had requested. Should I keep the second card and give them both to the shelter?
In the end, I decided, that whatever benefit the shelter might derive would more than be offset by the bad karma of doing something dishonest. So, on Christmas Eve afternoon (Sunday, the 24th), I called IKEA Direct and talked to someone named Gwendolyn. I explained the situation, telling her that I’d received a duplicate gift card. She put me on hold (interminably, it seemed – as it would turn out, I’d be put on hold a lot in the next couple of days) to check to see whether my credit card account had been charged twice. Nice gesture, but I’d already told her that it hadn’t. Gwendolyn came back on the line and told me to destroy SECOND card I’d received and to keep the FIRST. Fine. I hung up the phone, shredded the SECOND card, put the first in the shelter Christmas card and delivered it in the course of my Christmas rounds.
Imagine my dismay (not to mention being royally furious) when I got back to the office on the day after Christmas (Tuesday, the 26th) to find a phone message from Gwendolyn waiting for me. To the effect of, “Gee, I hope you haven’t destroyed that SECOND gift card yet, because I should have told you to destroy the FIRST one.” Well, yeah, I DID destroy the SECOND card because you told me it had been deactivated, and that it was worthless. Why WOULDN’T I have destroyed it?
I immediately got on the phone with IKEA Direct to explain to them (Mercedes, this time) that, thanks to them, I had given a worthless gift to someone. What if they had decided to try to use it before I could get to them? Someone would NOT have had a very merry Christmas!
During all the previous exchanges, I spent a lot of time on hold – time that I really didn’t have to spare and that I should never have had to spend. I should have kept the damned SECOND card and let the shelter spend them both.
Anyway, Mercedes assured me that IKEA would be sending me a THIRD gift card, that they were sending it via overnight mail, and that I would have it the next day (Wednesday, the 27th).
Well, “overnight” stretched into the following afternoon. Still, no card. I got on the phone – again – at about 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the 27th, and insisted on speaking to a supervisor or manager. I got a very nice gentleman named Terrell, who, after putting me on hold – yet again – told me that they had traced my shipment and that it was currently in the Cleveland area, but that it wouldn’t be delivered until the next day.
So much for “overnight.”
I FINALLY got the shelter’s gift card on Thursday, December 28. I am assuming it’s good; no one from IKEA has contacted me and told me that this one is a bust.
So, all this brings me back to my original question:
What’s with IKEA?
I told Jean that if she ever has the urge to drop a hint about something from IKEA, let me know and I’d give her the cash. IKEA Direct proved anything but.
God we have to get the shelter out of your home
A freestanding shelter is a workable idea so long as the distance of travel is not too much on the shelter owner to the point that it wears them out physically and emotionally. I suppose that might go for any shelter in house, behind one's house, or on the far side of town. I know of a freestanding shelter that is behind a home, the owner is working almost alone and cannot take in any more ferrets because few are being adopted. I just worry about you, I guess, and I'd like to see it work and show the world it can work, but just not at the price of your well-being
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Unfortunately there are so many ferret dumpers now, that a ferret shelter is needed every bit as much as a cat and dog one.
I think a freestanding shelter allows more animals to be helped, as they are not limited in a person's home. Also, home based shelters tend to become less business-like, and the directors become overwhelmed because of the integration into their personal space
We are one. :-) It works out just fine. You give up some things, you gain some things.
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I feel that a freestanding shelter would be a wonderful thing to have in any community. It looks more professional than a home based shelter. I believe it would be easier to grants and do fund raising since you have an actual place of business. I've worked with various animal rescues and the ones who have their own building(s) are looked at in a more positive way. They are also the ones who don't seem to have problems getting grants and funding in this area. Good luck with your building Jean, I hope your dream becomes a reality.
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I believe the capabilities are there, just like with dog and cat shelters as long as the shelter is providing round the clock care for sick ferrets I see no problem at all.
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Because I've been personally involved with a freestanding shelter for years (http://www.washingtonferret.org), and it works. There are advantages and disadvantages to every arrangement. I'd be happy to talk about our experiences.Kevin
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1) with reservations...and i am assuming this would go without saying...that any ill ferrets needing care would be taken home to be cared for and not left at the off-site shelter alone
2) IF i were physically able to volunteer...i would...but since i am not...i had to say no...those are the only two qualifications...kat parsons
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Home sheltering, while invaluable and important, still lacks credibility in the larger community. Granted, there are many and more complex issues involved in operating a non-home, dedicated shelter, but this just reinforces (and rightfully so) that the shelter must operate in such a way that it is viewed as a serious, responsible (especially fiscally and hygienically) enterprise. A structure designed specifically for animals can also provide the space, specialized facilities, and equipment that animals require to recuperate and thrive. Houses were not designed for pets! Shelters (like veterinary clinics) are. So long as there are provisions made for urgent care and emergency situations, and assuming that funding to build and continue to operate a freestanding shelter facility is available, caring for rescued animals in a shelter is, in my opinion, preferable to housing them in a residence.
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Ferrets are specialized pets that need specialized care. Our community needs facility, and we also need to support it.
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People may feel more comfortable coming to a free standing shelter than someone's home.More traffic for selling things if you have a storefront.Better for the shelter director to not have everyone tromping through their home.Safer for the shelter director's personal ferrets in case of an infectious disease breaks out in the shelter.
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I think a free standing shelter may make it more accessible to the community at large, may have more visitors donations helpers etc
Many volunteers are uncomfortable going to a shelter in a persons home. It gives the shelter mom and family a place that they can again call their own private space.
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I don't see the difference if a ferret shelter is in someone's home or free standing. Free standing probably better because you can devote the entire building to the use of the ferrets
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I think its workable, but only if ferrets that are extremely ill or weak are kept in foster care or at the director's home. Clearly, some animals require round the clock care and others will be fine alone for the night.
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Because a ferret shelter of any kind is workble with the proper support. Sadly it is always hard to get reliable volunteers and donations are stretched ever thinner by the inreasing number of causes and groups requesting it.
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A free standing shelter would offer just as much love as a home shelter. It may even offer more such as more room, more people to help, more of a chance for people to see the shelter just like they'd see a shopping store. If people see it as it's own entity, they may be more likely to come and help out/adopt,etc.
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When I first discovered the existance of ferret-specific shelters, I assumed they were free-standing just as dog/cat shelters were. I was surprised to learn they were home-based. I had a LOT to learn about how ferret shelters worked. I wanted to volunteer when I thought they were free-standing, and my current involvement/donations have nothing to do with the location of the building. (Or maybe it does, but indirectly.) 'My' shelter is Rocky's (not nearby), which I realize is unique in having a separate building. I went there not knowing what to expect, and I think the separate building made me more comfortable during my initial visits than I would have been had I been entering someone's home. For anyone not already involved with a shelter (general public), I can see that a free-standing shelter might be looked at in a better light. But there will also probably be assumptions on the existance of funding similar to dog/cat shelters which wouldn't be expected in a home-based shelter. (Ok, so I know people already assume you have oodles of funding, but maybe moreso in a free-standing building than now.) Overall, I understand your intentions and I see it as a positive direction. I wish you much luck Jean.Carrie
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I feel that the establishment of a free standing ferret shelter will set a precedent in the way cities, government agencies and people will look at ferrets. Even a person turning in a ferret only sees one shelter, they have no clue how many there are or how badly they all need funds and help.It opens the doors to all kinds of possibilities.beverly jones
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If the funds were there to build it, and the rescue is located inside a home, I believe it would free up space and relieve stress on the family of the rescue operator. It would also provide a separate, safe environment for the ferrets.
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I think a free standing shelter benefits ferrets as much as any in home shelter. As with any shelter they can't run effectively without volunteers. It may actually be safer for the ferrets because the shelter is specifically built/renovated for them.
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A shelter is a shelter--I'd support one either way, in any way I could. If only there were one near me, I'd volunteer. Workable? We'll see. Not for everyone maybe. But it looks like you're going to make it work
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I think the idea overall would be better for the ferrets as well as the ferret tender/shelter owner. I personally wouldn't be able to volunteer at such a place or help with fundraisers because of my disabilities, but I'd certainly be amenable to helping in other ways. When we have a little extra money, I'd also be willing to donate
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I live in a state where it is the only shelter. It's badly needed.
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Whether a shelter is free standing or in a home it is for the ferrets. I think the free standing one will in the long run be better for the ferrets. I believe it will be easier to adopt out to the not so ferret saavy and give them better education when they choose to adopt. They also can come back and volunteer or if necessary bring a ferret back if their life has changes in it.
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Any shelter is better than none at all.Chris Lloyd
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I have reservations because as a hospice, I KNOW some ferrets need round the clock care. It is much easier to go into my ferret room, in my bare feet and nighty, than to get dressed and leave the home for the shelter. If you have to drive, that is worse.
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I see no big difference in the time spent by a shelter owner whether it's an attached or free-standing shelter. Any shelter person I know of is with the ferrets so much it doesn't really matter where they are located.
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I am not a shelter, but have 15 rescued ferrets. I can't imagine having as amny as some shelters have in my home. I know there is some concern about the ferrets that need more attention, but these can always be brought to someones house. A family needs it's own time. The person running the shelter should also have a place to get away.
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A ferret shelter Mom already sacrafices so much of her time, money, efforts. She or he needs a place to just breathe. No shelter mom or dad I know of would or could leave a sick kid in the ferret shelter but would bring them to their house to nurse them. Also, I have known shelters to just plain old run out of room and have so many ferrets that there is no longer any room for living, eating, sleeping etc. This is totaly unfair and not required of any proffessional. It is also unfair on the shelter folks famalies.
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I don't think it provides the best interaction with the ferrets. I feel the same way for any household animal-dog, cat, etc. I would want to spend more time with them if they were in my home close enough to my daily life. I don't know how other people feel. I don't think people would want to just hang out there.. it's more of a job to do and get out. That's not interacting.
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Because I think ferrets need all the help they can get.
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When one must care for a large number of ferrets it is no longer practical to keep them in a private home unless one lives in a mansion. While home care is better because there is someone there to care for a ferret in need there are space limitations in the home. Ideally, a free standing shelter should have at least one staff member on location 24/7 to care for emerging needs. However, more funds would be needed for that. An alternative would be to purchase a small farm with a home and an outbuilding that could be adapted for ferret needs or a new building built. There would always be someone nearby in the house to check on things.
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Families that have Ferret shelters in their homes are really tied to their home 24-7-365. Not much of a chance to go on vacations or other trips. It's difficult to get someone that is experienced enough to take care of the number of sick and surgical residents usually there. Win B. in Michigan
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Overhead would demand too much $$. Volunteering wouldn't have anything to do with the success or failure of a free standing shelter; you volunteer for the ferrets. I would still donate, but not in a greater amount, so ultimately, my donations wouldn't go as far to help the ferrets. Probably wouldn't have time to work fundraisers.
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Any kind of shelter to help the fuzzies is a good idea. A free standing shelter would just be, to me, more work because it would be in a separate building than your house, would need to be very close and have lots of monitors to hear what is going on.
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People need to know the real facts about ferrets. Ferrets are the best little friends anyone can have they are fun to watch, great little kissers, and make your sad days go away in a flash just by watching them play, dook, and laugh.
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I think the facilities would be better than space meant for something else. Quarrentine, play area, hospital space, a reception etc. Plus a specifically designed ferret shelter would be easier to clean and run
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I think it is too difficult to raise enough money to build a free standing building for a shelter. If some kind person had enough money to donate, that would be great, otherwise, it will be very hard to do.
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Safer than having a ferret shelter run out of someone's home.
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humane society is free standing. I would volunteer, but only with respect to fundraising and organizing events, which is what I do with my local shelter. I would donate to any ferret shelter that is helping educate people and saving ferrets. my prefer mode of volunteering is fundraising :) all the best.
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It's more helpful to the ferrets to have a dedicated unit where potential owners can see the ferrets daily and on their own schedules, rather than odd days and limited hours. It may also force pet stores not to stock breeders' ferrets due to lower sales because of such a unit. I think it's a great idea. =)
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Unless there is a knowledgeable person in close proximity to the ferrets 24/7, I have grave concerns for the safety/well being of those with health issues.
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It would really be nice to have my house for myself again. I have had to have cages in my living room and extra room. I run a small shelter. Compared to one I know that has about 200 ferrts and they are everywhere this is small, and so is my house.
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I do not think a free-standing ferret shelter should be treated any differently than an in-home one. I don't understand why it would be, especially if it is on the same land as a residence, or has precautionary 24 hour staff. Of course there is a concern that during any extended period of time where staff is not present, due to the sometimes fragile nature of abandoned ferrets, something terrible could go wrong without immediate assistance, and I suppose that might be some peoples' objection to the idea, but in the end, if it is handled properly, any ferret shelter is a good ferret shelter.
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Because I currently have 6 ferrets besides my own 2 in my home, after losing the oldest 2. We have no shelter in our area and I have always taken them in when asked. I still have no clue how my name gets out, unless it is from the pet stores I buy feed and supplies in, but I cannot say no when they will go to a shelter if I dont take them. I have a 16 X 18 room in the basement my husband dedicated to ferrets. They come and go from their cages as they please, and where they make a mess is easily cleaned up. We recently added an old overstuffed chair that all of them have taken to sleeping in now, abandoning their hammies. They get fed warm soup 3 times a day and have a constant supply of dry kibble and fresh water. It is hard work, but I do believe they are happy. No doubt they would not be in a shelter!
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Two of my kids were from a shelter and I love them to bits. My good friend runs a shelter in Nevada, you know her, Linda Soule. Those ferrets live better than most humans. They are loved, cuddled and given the best medical treatment and toys available. When I die, I want to come back as a ferret and live at Linda's. I snuggle and kiss each ferret when I'm there, and each one is a wonderful ferret. Some are adoptable and some aren't for varies reasons, health mainly. I'm in Calif, so there's no known shelters, so I can't help out, but I do take things to Linda's when I go (paper towels, laundry soap, bleach, etc), and I sew bedding for her so she can sell it to help with the shelter costs. But if there were shelters in Calif, I definetly would help clean and play with all the furry kids. Melanie
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I think its workable. I agree with it because near me all the shelters only take ferrets to put them to sleep.
Well, we have gotten 78 Building Surveys. Here is the results, and after this a few of the questions raised are answered, and I raise a few of my own questions.
Do you think a freestanding ferret shelter is a workable idea? 65 Yes
13 NoWould you volunteer at a freestanding ferret shelter? 53 yes25 No
Would you donate to a freestanding ferret shelter? 60 yes 18 No
Would you become involved with fund raising events for a freestanding ferret shelter? 41 yes
37 NoDo you think it is different if a shelter mom/dad leaves a home-based shelter to go to work for 10 hours or they leave a freestanding shelter to go home for 10 hours? 39 Yes
39 no
I find it very interesting that it is a tie.
I had assumed that most people know that I am not working, and have not been able to find a job since I had cancer and had the hamstring removed from my leg.
Many times when I could work, I worked two jobs to support the shelter.
First, I don’t understand how it is different if I go to work for 10 hours, and the ferrets are here in the house alone while I am at work, or if I leave a shelter building and go home to be with my family and my own pets for 10 hours.
Right now as it is, and it is in many other home based shelters, the shelter op does not get a break. There is no quiet space; I understand that this is very hard for people to understand.
Here is an example. I love Christmas. I love to decorate, I love to have family and friends over, and I love to cook. There was no Christmas celebration here, there was no gathering of family and friends (normally this is the place for those who have no one or nowhere to go). There is no separation of personal space and shelter. The shelter has grown so LARGE, the dining room is now another shelter room, the office is a large storage room, the kitchen has become project central for fundraising projects, a spare table has become the desk. There is no room to breath for the human.
Litter boxes are washed in the same sink I wash dishes.
It gets frustrating when you get rude or argumentative people asking, well why can’t I come over at 8 PM, you live there, what is the big deal? Moreover, there is that grant thing. I am a bit frustrated right now, so please do not take things wrong.
Perhaps later I will include more of the comments and answers, but for now, I think it shows that there is at least support in theory.
Yes, only in theory, why you ask? Well, the lack of volunteers to help, the lack of support at fundraisers, the donations that have become non-existent.
We have gotten a few over the Christmas season, but it does not even come close to feed these guys for a month.
We go through 96 pounds of food a month minimum right now. In addition, the extras like probiotics, and duck soup. We use 32 ounces of duck soup a DAY. That is only for the ones who need it, or have to be supplemented.
We go through 120 lbs of Equine Fresh a week (Tractor Supply, crush feline pine type of product). I do a minimum of 20 loads of ferret laundry a week, and Jane does at least 8 herself.
Bleach is used like crazy here; bleach is my friend is our motto. Paper towel are our friend too.
There are 18 ferrets that need to go to the vet for various reasons, mast cells, adrenal, check ups.
Ok, there is support there in theory, but in reality, where is it? There are several programs that would be beneficial for the shelter as far as getting hands on help, and when I speak to the co-coordinators, they get excited at the prospect of being able to become involved, then the I say, “Temporarily the shelter is in my home. Does that make a difference?” I then hear, “Yes, it does. When the shelter is moved, we will be more than happy to help.”
Yes, I am very frustrated. We had a contest, design a Squidoo Lens. It cost nothing to enter; the lens that was most popular won their choice of prizes.
There is a name the Car Rally contest, and again, no cost to enter, but win a $25 Gift Card. Six entries, four from the same person.
You see, I can see the end result of a building, no one else can, they keep coming up with the problems the shelter faces now in the home setting. No one hears that there are programs and solutions for some of the problems.
There are several community service programs, but the shelter is in a private home. There is grant money out there, we qualify for but the shelter is in a private home.
The shelter owns property, there is a majority of the funds promise, but it seems we cannot make up the difference. No matter how hard I try and how hard I beg people to become involved, keep your word, and do what you say you are going to do.
Now, I need help to organize the car rally and the bike run. I need someone that can be trusted to go out and hit up businesses for donations of items for raffle prizes, goodie bags for the people who show their car, and donations of food, so we can have an area to purchase food items. Pop, water, you name it.
Why a car rally? Because everything else I have tried does not work. So, time to think further out of the box.
So, do I have any takers?
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