I was so impressed and jealous of the wonderful family of
ferrets that Dr. Williams and Daisy Lyn and all the other
multi-ferret households that I read about on this list, that I
just had to adopt a "few" more. That is not to say that only one or
two ferrets are not a pleasure. However when I visited the ferret
shelter I found I could not resist. I wanted to take home all
20 or so of them, but I settled for four of the less fortunate
of the group.
     The ferret shelter operator, Bobbi called them "fossils"
because the were the "old folks" of the bunch. They would
probably never be adopted because they are not cosmetically
desirable and are slow to play. They sleep alot and some have
health problems. I fell in love with all four of them.
Here is the "bio" on each of them. They may be older but they are
very special.
     Sable is a spayed female of about 5 1/2 yrs of age. She is
sable colored and has cataracts on both eyes, yet she is fiesty
and gets around remarkably well despite her lame hind leg.
I took her to the vet for a look at her leg and the vet seems
to think that at one time she had broken her pelvis and this
did not heal properly. She grunts and groans during a bowel
movement and I had her feces tested and she had no abnormalities
so the vet seems to think that her distress is due to the pelvis
problem. She is so lovable and adores being held and loves to give
kisses on the face. Very little is known of her previous history.
She came to the shelter about 2-3 months ago with another female
ferret named Faucett, so the shelter did not want to separate them.
     Faucett (alias Ferret Faucett named after Farrah Fawcett (sp?)
the actress) is a spayed sable female about 3 1/2 years old.
She has beautiful, silkly fur and is the healthiest of the four.
She loves to be held and cuddled and is very mischievous. She
has already emptied my flower pots of their dirt twice. I hope
I have successfully outsmarted her this time in devising a
determent to her clever pot plundering.
     Fred is a sable nuetered male about 5 1/2 years old. No
history was provided concerning him. The previous owner
obviously did not care for him. Bobbi said he came in a filthy
cage and was in poor health. Bobbi had a benign tumor removed
from his face under his eye. He also had sparse fur on his back
and rear leg area. I took him to the vet for a physical and
he suspects skin allergies. Since I have had Fred he has received
a soothing bath with a rinse of dry skin treatment and he has
begun to grow some fur in the patchy sections. He is not
as tolerant of being held but he has his moments when he likes
to be nuzzled. With time, love and attention I think he will
be more trusting of humans.
     Boo is the fourth fossil ferret and he looks like a fossil!
He is a albino neutered male of unknown age. The vet thinks he is
quite old since he has lost some of his teeth and has a bad case
of tarter build-up causing bleeding gums. When I gave Boo a bath
I was shocked to discover how thin he is. The vet ran blood tests
and discovered renal disease. His kidneys are not functioning to
full capacity. So Boo is on a diet of Science Diet K/D and
fortunately he loves it. He has a monstrous appetite but he
shows little results due to his health problem. He has very little
energy and does not tolerate being held for very long. I will
continue to gently nurse him along and hope for good results.
     Well I love each and every one of them. The fossils are kept
separate from my other rambunctious angels, Teebone and Weezul
for health and energy expenditure reasons.
     It is amazing what wonderful personalities each ferret can
possess. If I had a larger house and more time I would welcome
a multitude. It would be labeled ferret mania, but for now I
am labeled a ferret maniac by my roommate. There is always
enough love to go around with a ferret, because a ferret gives
so much in return. To provide a secure, loving and healthy
home for these precious animals is such a small task on my part
because I receive so much pleasure from them in return.
     I think all loving ferret owners feel this way. How lucky
we are to be in the presence of a ferret!
     I have said enough but thanks for the oppurtunity to
introduce you to my family.
 
                            Judy and the kids Teebone and Weezul
                            and the fiesty fossils Boo, Fred,
                            Sable and Faucett.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0690]