Posted: April 1, 2008, 5a.m. EST
April 2008 is devoted to ferrets, ferrets that need homes. At least that’s the dream of Dawn Miklich, who is spearheading an effort to make April 2008 Adopt-A-Ferret Month.
Miklich said she has always been an animal person. She became interested in ferrets after working for an online retailer and hearing about ferrets from the customers.
“When I began researching them, I was very surprised at the number of ferrets who were given up,” Miklich said. “Ferrets aren't that common a pet in my area so I never thought of them as needing help.”
In Miklich’s research, she found that while several animals had months spotlighting their adoption, ferrets did not.
“I thought it was something I could try and put together that would help bring attention to the homeless ferrets and the ferret shelters that take care of them,” Miklich said, “as well as educate people about ferrets so they can determine if they are a good choice of pet for them and if so to consider adoption.”
At the Adopt-A-Ferret Month website, visitors can search for ferret shelters by state or country and find a list of more than 60 ways to help ferrets and ferret shelters. Miklich hopes to make this an annual event.
The Adopt-A-Ferret website went online in February 2008. To date, visits to it total more than 500 and more than 40 ferret shelters are listed on it.