HOW IS THE PFRA FUNDED?

Unfortunately, the PFRA has found no form of government funding available to help support shelters for domestic ferrets. Thus, shelter directors must rely on their own means to continue running their organizations. In general, ferret shelters do not bring in enough money to cover the basic costs of rescuing ferrets, and as a result much of the expense is taken out-of-pocket by shelter directors. None of us are in this business to make money; we are all selflessly devoted to caring for ferrets in need.

The PFRA operates as a not-for-profit organization. Our expenses are covered through adoption fees, fees for other services, and by donations made by generous ferret supporters. The rest is covered out-of-pocket by the directors themselves.

The cost of running a good shelter can be overwhelming. Each ferret that comes into the Rescue must be checked by a veterinarian to determine any health problems, and if no proof of current vaccination is provided at the time of drop-off, rabies and distemper vaccines must be administered. All ferrets that enter the shelter are tested for Aleutian Disease Virus. While ferrets reside at the Rescue, any illness that may arise is treated as if the ferret is one of our own. The bulk of expense the shelter must deal with is in providing medical care. Other costs include keeping the shelter stocked with safe and durable caging, proper bedding, high quality foods (we do not give shelter ferrets foods any less nutritional than we give our own pets), and seemingly endless supplies of litter. Toys, water bottles, food dishes, litter boxes, nutritional supplements, medications, and cleaners and disinfectants also add up to great expense. Our educational materials and publications are also a significant expense, including contracts, adoption packets, and publicity materials used to inform the public about ferrets as pets and our shelter's services.

For these reasons, we gratefully accept donations of cages, food, bedding, litter, and money. For more information about donating to the Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association, see our Donations page.

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