Incoming	Outgoing
Total
	Break Down by Location
EFS
QCFR

2006 - What happened and what's coming...

2006 was an eventful year for the shelter. The number of ferrets we helped almost doubled! Fortunately the physical size of the shelter also grew with it. We increased our capacity by both tripling the floorspace of the shelter and by partnering with Cathy and Paul Hamlett to form a branch in Moscow, Idaho - the Quad Cities Ferret Rescue. Cathy and Paul compliment our philosophies towards ferrets and sheltering well.

Unfortunately running a shelter is a bitter-sweet experience. In many ways our job is to constantly turn lemons into lemonaide! This year another long-standing shelter closed - the 24 Carat Ferret Rescue and Shelter run by CJ.

The beginning of the year was quite hectic. We started the new year by remodeling the 425 sq. foot room of our home into the new shelter. It was a long month and a half remodel.

Our timing was great because mid-way through the ordeal, we learned that the 24k Ferret Shelter in Vegas was closing. Rhonda and Pete Valdon graciously helped us both out by driving 24 hours (straight!) to pick up the last of the ferrets in Las Vegas and bring them to our shelter. We took in the last 18 ferrets that were not able to find a home: the cancerous, the blind, the old, the medicated, and--as we learned at the last minute--the ringworm infested.

Financially, this would have been a bad way to start the year with all the extra veterinary care each of these ferrets needed. Instead, so many people were eager to help that all the ferrets quickly received everything they needed. First, model and long-time ferret lover Bianca Beauchamp and photographer Martin Perrault co-sponsored a raffle for our benefit. Save Our Shelters sent a grant to our vet. Then, Dr. Koob DVM offered his help by doing our surgeries for practically less than hard costs. The raffle exceeded everyone's expectations --we raised over $1100!-- and with Dr. Koob donating his time almost everyone of the Las Vegas ferrets was covered.

Most of the Vegas ferrets found homes, but unfortunately many were just too stressed by the move, the ringworm, and cancers that had gone untreated for too long, that they passed away. Some of those that received surgery died later of other underlying cancers. We lost nine of the Vegas kids over a period of six months; At least they passed in new, loving homes. All were very special and we were glad we could take them in.

With the beginning of the year so crazy, the rest seemed like an easy ride! In April, our local Petco picked us as their Spring Charity recipient and donated a sizeable grant to us. They also invited us to their store for an adoption event. 2006 was also the first year we were able to help an owner recover a ferret they adopted from us but lost thanks to our new microchipping policy.

Midyear, a new shelter started up in Richmond, Utah called The Ferret Cubby. We were able to help them out with supplies, samples of our paperwork, policies, and procedures. In fact, we now communicate weekly to discuss all the crazy shelter business that goes on!

We were able to work with the Oregon Ferret Shelter this year too. In the summer they were getting close to having 150 ferrets and asked for help. We did what we could by coordindating with three other shelters to meet Chris Mathis in La Grande, Oregon. Each participating shelter (QCFR, The Ferret Cubby, Ferret Haven of Spokane, and us) took 10 ferrets. This gave the OFS a little breathing room so they could accept new ferrets without being so worried.

We received so much help this year that it was amazing! We improved our food mix year too - and without raising our costs! Mazuri was gracious enough to donate 200lbs to us. Many Hewlett-Packard employees helped out by providing supplies during their pet drive this winter. The secret santas from the Giving Tree also provided a new influx of treats, toys, bedding and support! Petco gave us a grant to purchase a printer/fax/copier (that we haven't picked out yet) and to finish up the last of the shelter improvements. With all the infrastructure improvements we did this year - after we pick up the computer and printer - we think we'll be set up pretty well for the next few years. Litter is probably our biggest cost issue now as we can't purchase it wholesale; traveling to Oregon to pick it up from the manufacturer at a cheaper price still costs more than buying it bag-by-bag locally. To everyone we didn't mention who helped so much this year, thank you!

2007 looks pretty bright. With the help of a long-time supporter we were able to meet with a consultant who gave us many new idea on how to grow and maximize our impact. We hope to put a few of these ideas to work this coming year! We are seriously considering organizing a specialty Ferret Show in Boise for 2007. Also in the works is integrating video into our website, increasing the number of voting members on our board, making it easier for people to make smaller donations for specific items, expanding our volunteer program, and adding to our continual educational efforts (the ferret show will be a big part of this).

Our pipe dream is to eventually get a free standing building that would be able to be open to the public with standard operating hours -- but that's more of a 10-year plan, not just for next year!