------------- Shelter News
------------- Written by: Kaye Spector
A place a ferret may find shelter and adoption
Parma would house first home in Ohio
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Kaye Spector
Plain Dealer Reporter
Parma -- Ferret rescue operations and shelters in Ohio are home-grown efforts.
Usually it's someone who takes the animals into his or her home or outbuilding until a permanent owner can be found.
But if Jean Caputo-Lee has her way, Parma will soon be home to Ohio's only ferret shelter that would be run much like the local dog shelter.
It would have regular business hours during which prospective owners could visit, apply to take a pet home, learn about being a ferret owner and buy animal-care products.
Since 1992, Caputo-Lee and her husband, John, have operated Ferrets Unlimited, a nonprofit rescue organization, from their Cleveland home.
It's a busy place.
On a recent day, there were 82 ferrets in cages lining two bedrooms and the hallway of her four-bedroom home's second floor. She said she adopts out 75 to 100 ferrets a year.
With money given by a benefactor who wants to be anonymous, Ferrets Unlimited recently paid $83,000 for a property on State Road between Lucerne and Heathstone roads, where the shelter is to be built.
The benefactor also pledged $150,000 more to Ferrets Unlimited to tear down the building, which housed an optometrist's office, and erect a new one.
"They want the shelter up and out of the house and on its own," Caputo-Lee said.
She said the new building will be the first in the country designed just for ferrets.
With food and litter pellets bills approaching $500 a month, Caputo-Lee hopes the free-standing ferret shelter will better help her attract donations for operating expenses. Potential donors have toured her home, but she believes the home set-up discourages them from giving.
"Come on, this is somebody running something out of their home," she said. "It's a trust issue, and I really can't blame them."
The ferrets come from people who no longer can care for them or from police and animal-control agents who find a ferret someone else has released. Caputo-Lee and her two helpers release the animals from their cages to play indoors for long periods.
Parma Mayor Dean DePiero said he doesn't oppose the shelter: "God bless em for taking care of the ferrets," he said. But the mayor, who sits on the city Planning Commission, said he wants to ensure neighbors will have no health, noise or safety issues.
"My main concern is to make sure there's buffering," DePiero said.
Right now, Caputo-Lee is waiting on the architectural plans for the new building. Demolition of the existing building and construction of the new one is tentatively set for the end of July.
Meanwhile, Caputo-Lee is raising money to equip the building with suitable cages that are easier to maintain and playpens for the ferrets. The shelter also needs items like filing cabinets, desks, tables and a washer and dryer.
A benefit concert to equip the new Ferrets Unlimited building will be at 9 p.m. July 22 at the Maple Grove Tavern, 14832 Pease Road, Maple Heights.
The bands Mind Riot and Degameth will play. Four T-shirts signed by band members will be auctioned. Recommend this article...
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed