HI All - it's been ages since I have posted, but Kevin's comment about
returning Misty to the shelter, where upon she found a happier spot made
me think.  Just when do you call a halt to an introduction and admit that
it just wasn't working.
 
A few months ago I received a poor neglected female ferret rescue that had
been dropped off at one of the local vets.  The "person" that owned her
decided that he wouldn't pay for the surgery to spay her (although at the
time we thought it was adrenal as she was bald and had a swollen vulva).
She was 2 years old, intact and had been kept with a whole male.  Vet said
if I would re home her, he would do the surgery/medical care for free.
 
Well, what can one say.  Took custody of a totally hairless jill - named
her Fugly for f--king ugly.  And she was.  Big time.  Anyway, surgery done,
was a small tumour on her ovary.  Did the spay and she recovered well and
was no longer f--king ugly, but the name has stuck.  Anyway, to make a long
story short, spent several months trying to intro her to my group.  She did
integrate as far as they stopped chasing her, but it was obvious she was
not happy as a member of a tribe.  What to do?  Didn't want a single ferret
and didn't want her to be miserable.  Luck did strike that day when our
zoologist arrived at my office and asked me to help him find a ferret for
his daughter.  We had a long talk about babies vs adults etc.  Story ends
with ferret and daughter bonding like crazy and Fugly is now one part of a
happy ferret/human pair.  Have you ever watched a little girl and a little
ferret chase each other through the sprinklers??  Anyway the point of all
this is when does one decide to say, "enough" and pull an animal from a
group where it is not happy, but at least accepted?  This time, I was lucky
and everything worked out, but what if a home hadn't shown up?  Should I
have kept her in the group and hoped she would have eventually grown to
like it?
 
Be well all!
 
Beverly Burge
Section Head - Hospital/Quarantine
Registrar
Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem
 
Fax: 972-2-643-0122
[Posted in FML issue 3096]