Operation: Tesla Stork

We often get asked what it’s like to volunteer with us. We recently documented our activities on social media for a “behind the scenes” look at some of what we do. Here's a recap!

We have a policy that no one does pick ups or drop offs alone. It’s a safety issue. Since we don’t have a shelter and all of our volunteers live in different cities and have jobs/lives, sometimes it means some extra travel time.

Operation Tesla Stork starts early on a Friday Morning with our South Island Vice Present, who graciously took the day off, making the leisurely drive from Victoria to Courtney to pick up the BC Ferret Rescue Society Present who will be accompanying her on the weekend adventure. After a quick coffee and recharge, since we're going all electric this weekend, the dynamic duo set out again towards Nanaimo. In Nanaimo they meet up with the Rescue's Secretary who also made the drive to Nanaimo from Victoria with a load of ferrets going over to the mainland. She also takes a group of ferrets back down to Victoria from Courtney with her!

A quick, luxurious cruise on a BC Ferry later and Operation Tesla Stork is in North Vancouver. and making a stop at the Rescue's Mainland Vice President to shuffle some ferrets and equipment around; then it's off for another ferret delivery. The new foster family lives a little bit outside of the lower mainland has come into Burnaby to meet up with Operational Tesla Stork. After settling in the ferrets with their new foster parents it's back to the VP's house to spend the night scheming more ferret related shenanigans.

Saturday morning, up before the sun and on the road again! First stop, COFFEE. Second Stop, Charging the EV then onto Princeton, BC via Hope with a few stops in between to admire the scenery, use the washroom and refill the coffees.

Making it to Princeton we meet up with another new set of ferret foster parents who came down from Trail, BC to save us a lot of travel time! Coffee, recharge the EV (a common theme!) and we're on the road again towards Vancouver. A pitstop in Chilliwack to pick up some donations for the Rescue and Operation Tesla Stork makes it back to the Mainland VP's house for the night, who during the drive to Princeton also took in three surrenders and dropped off another ferret to it's new foster home.

Sunday Morning the adventure continues, back onto the ferry heading over to Vancouver Island. Nanaimo was cold and rainy so we didn’t hang out for long but the trio that we just got in Vancouver are now with their new home where they will be transitioned over to a balanced raw diet and assessed for health/behaviour issues.

Next up we head to our South Island home base to rest. Just kidding!

We get to unload the car, do some paperwork and catch up on all of the ferret chores we put off to do this trip. In the ferret rescue world, the work is never done.

Our volunteers spent 2 nights/3 days away from home, family and personal ferrets to drive over 1200km in order to facilitate bringing new intakes into care, the delivery of ferrets to new homes as well as the pick up and delivery of supplies and donated items.

A weekend like this one involves a lot of moving parts, the cooperation of a lot of people and the clean up of a lot of poop. A massive thank you is owed to:

• The family of our Island VP for taking care of 13 ferrets while we were away.

• The family of our Mainland VP for hosting and feeding 2 extra humans and 9 extra ferrets. 15 ferrets and 7 humans in one townhouse made for a lot of fun.

• Everyone who agreed to meet us on the side of the highway or in a parking lot near the highway so we could make our travels as efficient as possible.

• The makers of coffee… of which we consumed a lot.