Melanee Ellis reaches to open the cage of one of her many ferrets. Ellis runs a ferret shelter out of her home in Eugene, Oregon, and cares for over 40 ferrets that are rescues or being temporarily housed for their owners.
Ellis refills the food dish for two of her ferrets. The food Ellis provides contains ingredients and nutrients specific to the sensitive diet of ferrets.
Ellis scruffs one of her ill ferrets to administer its medicine. Not all of the ferrets that Ellis rescues come in perfect health. Several of the ferrets have unique, costly-to-treat illnesses that Ellis tends to every day. Scruffing a ferret, simil
One of Ellis’s ferrets rests its nose through its cage bars. Ferrets have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell and hearing.
Ellis clips the nails of one of her ferrets while a shelter volunteer holds its rump. Ferrets are energetic animals and getting one to hold still can require an extra set of hands.
Ellis holds one of her ferrets for a portrait. Ellis loves and cares for her ferrets but her connection with them goes beyond their cute appearance. Ellis says the pet ferrets she had as a teenager acted as emotional support after her mom passed awa
prev / next