Well, we got back from KiSta Ferret Shelter on Saturday -- what a day!  We
got on the road at 4:30 am, headed up to NJ -- this road trip was postponed
a week due to snow....It was an uneventful, albeit long trip - 7 hours each
way.
 
We finally got to Kim's at a little after 11am, and what a sight!  Poor,
sick Kim, cleaning away at boxes - Mango and Pauly underfoot - she's so
cute!.....so many ferrets in cages -- I did notice one thing that is
typical of the NJ rescue ferrets - they don't sleep in hammocks, they
sleep on the floor.  We met Valencia and Simi and Bubbles - and so many
others....the three we took back to Virginia Beach were Ron Jeremy, Blossom
and Dill.  Bubbles looks ready to pop - her pregnancy was too advanced to
risk spaying her - hopefully she and her kits will be okay.  Didn't get a
chance to see TOL (The Other Lisa), but I wish that I had - to thank her
for being such a good friend to Kim and helping out so much.  I will be
taking photos of all the rescues and putting them up on my website as soon
as possible.  Kim Rushing and Anne Ryan (and all their helpers) have done
such a great job with this rescue -- hats off to you both!
 
On our way back, we discovered that The Cape May-Lewes Delaware Ferry may
have changed the pet policy - the ferrets (we didn't want to subject
unsuspecting folks to the stinky boy, but we had the jill and early alter
in their carrier) were no longer welcome in the passenger area -- I've
already written the website (www.capemay-lewesferry.com) to ask for a
clarification, as both the website and travel brochure say that pets are
welcome on leashes, just not in the food service areas...We've traveled
for the past 10 years with pets on the ferry without issue.
 
Once home at 6:30, we unpacked the ferrets first and placed them in their
new homes - Dill (now Dilbert) and Blossom are sharing a cage, filled with
fresh bedding, hammocks and new carpet.  They both settled in nicely -
although I think the jill doesn't like men much - she bit Ern 4 times while
handling her.  So far, she hasn't bitten me.  Dilbert is a love.  It was a
long day for us - all of the ferrets traveled well in the carriers - even
used the litter boxes inside!
 
Ron Jeremy, now just plain old Jeremy, was placed in his own cage and
proceeded to make it more 'homey' by marking his cage in each corner. <g>.
He's a huge, orange-brown ferret with what looks like saliva stains on the
back of his neck.  He looks like once the orange goes away he will be
either a cinnamon or chocolate.  He is a handsome ferret, talks a lot and
gives kisses.  These three don't sleep in their hammocks either - I have to
pick them up when they are sleeping on the floor and gently place him in
the crawl-in hammocks.  Jeremy has another heartbreaking behavior - when
you open the door to his cage to let him out, he scrabbles desperately to
get through the door -- you can almost see the panic in his eyes -- as if
he doesn't get out fast enough, the door will close and he will be stuck in
his cage.  Its terrible to think that he may have just been a breeding
machine and never got the attention he deserved.
 
We are going to wait until the hormones die down a bit before trying to mix
Jeremy in with general population - he was aggressive, according to Kim.
 
I want to Thank Joe Palco of The Ferret Store -- there was a mix-up in
shipments at Christmas and I got more than I should have - and he donated
100lbs of Superior Choice to KiSta that we drove up to her!  That was
really awesome!
 
Thanks also goes out to Frances Lester - who drove down on Sunday to
deliver some much needed supplies - wood stove pellets, food, towels,
syringes and STUFF!  I know you told me to stop thanking you, but......
 
These guys will be available for adoption soon - but we have others ready
now.  One of these days I will have a free moment or two and update our
page again <g>.
 
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
http: www.ferrethaven.org
Want to help The Ferret Haven By-the-Sea? Register at iGive.com
by cutting and pasting this link:
http://www.iGive.com/html/ssi.cfm?CID=1236&MID=854
[Posted in FML issue 3293]