Thank you for your interest in ferret adoption from the Pennsylvania Ferret Club & Shelter! Before you fill out our adoption application, please review our adoption requirements and procedures below!

Adoption Requirements

We do not adopt to anyone under the age of 21. Parents who wish to adopt a ferret for their children should understand that we are adopting a ferret to the parent, not the child, and that we expect that the parent, not the child, is being bound to the terms of our adoption contract and intends to be responsible for the ferret for his or her entire life.

We do not adopt to anyone living outside of our club's geographical "footprint." This footprint is confined to eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and bordering counties of Delaware and Maryland. To view this footprint, click here. We do not ship ferrets. We do not deliver. If you live outside of these areas, please feel free to contact us and we can recommend shelters in your area.

We require that all applicants complete our adoption screening procedures, as outlined below. This includes the completion of an adoption application, participation in a telephone interview, an initial visit to the shelter for a formal interview, and if approved, a second trip to the shelter is required to pick up your adopted ferret(s).

An adoption fee is charged for all adoptions - our ferrets are not "free to a good home." We provide all required vaccinations, medical treatment, food, bedding, and other supplies for the ferrets in our care. Adoption fees help to offset the cost of keeping our doors open. Adoption fees do not come close to covering our expenses. If you would like to help us more, visit our Donations page to learn other ways that we raise funds to keep our shelter open.

We require that all adopters fully understand and agree to the terms of our Adoption Contract. These terms include, but are not limited to, the adopter agreeing:

• that ferrets require daily runtime of a bare minimum of two hours a day (more is desirable) and that ferrets cannot be left caged all the time. Ferrets are not hamsters, gerbils, or mice and require a great deal more hands-on care than those pets.
• that adopted ferrets will be kept as pets and for no other reason;
• that adopted ferrets will be housed indoors in a safe, secure, ferret-proofed area;
• that adopted ferrets will be provided foods that are suitable for ferrets and meet the nutritional requirements of ferrets;
• to provide annual vaccinations for adopted ferret(s);
• to provide timely medical treatment to an ill ferret;
• to provide any medical treatment necessary for an ill ferret and not choosing euthanasia as an alternative treatment for cost-saving purposes; and
• that if for any reason the adopter cannot keep any adopted ferret, that the ferret will be retured to our shelter. No exceptions!!!

This is merely an overview of our adoption terms. To read our FULL adoption contract, please click here!

We request, but do not require, that our adopters subscribe to our club's e-mail mailing list (Yahoo Group). The ferrets in our shelter become members of our family, and just because you take one home does not mean that we no longer care. By joining our mailing list, you will have a source of continuing education, support, and understanding from other ferret owners who love their pets just as you do.

Adoption Procedure

Our shelter is not a business. Our shelter is not a hobby. The PFCS is committed with all of our hearts and souls to making sure that not only do the ferrets in our shelter get adopted into a new home, but that they are adopted into their forever home. Their perfect home. The home that they should have gotten the first time around.

We do not take adoption lightly, and we will not adopt to anyone who does. We are thorough in our screening process, and if you are the right person to adopt one or more of our ferrets, you will not mind this. The following is our adoption procedure:

1. The first step is to fill out our Adoption Application (be sure you've read the above section, Adoption Requirements, first!). You may fill out our online application, or if you prefer, you may print out the printable PDF version of our application and mail it in to us.

2. Your application will be reviewed by the Director of Shelter Operations at the PFCS. At that point, the Director may contact you directly for more information. If your application meets pre-approval, it will be forwarded to one of our shelter directors. This process usually takes 2-3 days.

3. Once your application is forwarded to the shelter director, you will be contacted to set up a telephone interview. Adopters are requested to telephone the shelter for the interview at a prearranged time convenient for both the shelter director and the adopter. The telephone interview is an informal conversation in which the shelter director can get to know the adopter a bit more and to discuss adoption, ferrets, their care and needs, etc. The goal of this interview is to ensure that a potential adopter is indeed ready for the responsibility of ferret adoption and also to determine whether any ferrets currently in the shelter would be a good match for the adopter.

4. The next step is to arrange a meeting at the shelter. If you are adopting a ferret to be a companion for another ferret you already own, you may bring him or her at this time only if he or she has been tested and is negative to ADV. More information about this can be provided during your telephone interview. This visit to the shelter will provide the opportunity for an adopter to meet the ferrets available for adoption, and give the shelter director the opportunity to see an applicant interact with ferrets and to answer any questions the adopter may have. Ferrets are not adopted out at this first visit to the shelter, and no decision about adoption is made at this time.

5. After the first visit to the shelter, the shelter director reviews the applicant's information once again with the Director of Shelter Operations and makes a recommendation to the shelter director regarding the suitability of the applicant. If the applicant is then approved by the Director of Shelter Operations, the shelter director will contact you with the good news!

6. You will then be invited to return to the shelter for a second visit to pick up your newest family member!

Once again, we realize that our adoption procedure is thorough, but in our eyes, our adoption procedure is a matter of life and death... to the ferrets who trust us to place them in their loving, forever home.

Click Here for the Online Adoption Application | Click Here to Print the Printable PDF Adoption Application