Have you visited your local ferret shelter lately? Ferret shelters and humane societies around the world are full of ferrets who are in need of forever homes. Pet stores are selling baby ferrets to people who are not prepared to care for them, and more and more people are either dumping them out the back door (or worse), or taking them to shelters.
Ferret shelters have ferrets of all ages, colors, sizes, and personalities. By adopting from a shelter, you have the advantage of learning a bit more about the personality of the ferret, and most shelters can help you select a ferret that would be most appropriate for your home and family situation. In addition, by adopting from a shelter, you are not only saving the life of the animal you take home, but you are also freeing up space for another homeless animal to come to the shelter.
Please consider visiting your local ferret shelter, or other animal shelter if you have time this summer. I'm sure they would appreciate any help you can offer, even if it is just dropping off a package of paper towels.
The American Ferret Association has shelter listings for the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand.
You can also find listings for shelters and ferrets available for adoption using Petfinder. Enter your zip code, and select Small and Furry in the animal dropdown box, and type ferret where it asks for the breed.
