After the popular event, which was held in St. Vital Park for years, was cancelled due to inclement weather the last few years, the Manitoba Ferret Association is bringing the Ferret Frolic back. <\/div>\n
“We want ferret owners to come out and have fun, but it has to be a safe environment,” said Deb Kelly, a ferret lover and founding member of the MFA.<\/div>\n
“Ferret owners, we’re an odd-ball group,” Kelly, who founded the association in 1997 with her friend Carol Grand, admitted. “You have to be a little bit crazy to take a pet into your home which is like having a two year old on a sugar rush. But we thrive on that energy and silliness and what have you.”<\/div>\n
This year the event, which brings ferrets and their owners from across the city together for an afternoon of games and fellowship, will be held on Sat., May 4 at Valley Gardens Community Centre (218 Antrim Rd.).<\/div>\n
“Valley Gardens have been wonderful,” Kelly, who lives in North Kildonan, said. “They have good bus service, and a lot of parking. All of our events can still happen indoors, which will be much safer for the ferrets. Now we just have to let people know.”<\/div>\n
Along with games for ferrets like tube and sailboat races, there will be a ferret care seminar, and bedding and other ferret products will be on sale. The event is free, but participants are encouraged to join the MFA. <\/div>\n
“We’re appealing to the ferret community, as long as you have a ferret, you’re welcome to join our association,” Kelly said. “That $35 membership helps support all the ferrets in the shelter who are too old or have issues so that they’ll never have a forever home.”<\/div>\n
An animal lover, Kelly first fell for ferrets years ago, though she would not recommend her path to ferret ownership to others.<\/div>\n
“We first did what we don’t want people to do,” she recalled. “While my hubby was (in a pet store) choosing fish, I walked to the back and saw these two little fuzzballs. I reached in, picked up this little thing and it looked up at me and I went ohhhhh.”<\/div>\n
While she doesn’t regret the decision, Kelly certainly cautions against such impulsiveness.<\/div>\n
“I want to stop other people from making that spontaneous, oopsy purchase,” she said. “Some people don’t know what they’re getting into. Ferrets are more work than a dog, and definitely more work than a cat, but they’re as appealing as a kitten or a puppy.”<\/div>\n
For Kelly, it’s that playful nature that she finds endearing.<\/div>\n
“It’s their joie de vivre,” she said. “Just watching them, how their minds work, their determination, it’s mesmerizing and uplifting.”<\/div>\n
Of course, that nature is a bit of a double-edged sword.<\/div>\n
“It’s a real time commitment,” Kelly admitted. “You’ve got to play with them. They need stimulation.”<\/div>\n
For more information on the Manitoba Ferret Association or the Spring Ferret Frolic, visit manitobaferrets.ca<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Ferret lovers, rejoice! <\/p>\n
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