[Posted in 2 parts, combined into one post... BIG]
 
Well, I decided last night to make a good thing out of the bad thing.  If
you saw my post yesterday, you'll know that I found a bunch of ferret stuff
left next to the garbage dump in my apartment complex.
 
When I got home from work last night (about 7pm), it was all still there.
So I parked my fiance's truck in front of the fence by the garden hose
they have for car washing.  I turned on the lights, highbeams, and driving
lights, because it was already dark and there is no street light over
there.  I cranked up theradio.  Then I went to work.
 
I dragged the cage and all of the other stuff out to the hose.  I donned
my special, yellow, Rubbermaid cleaning gloves and began to sort.  I found
some pretty interesting (and sad) things.
 
First, the ferret's name was Gitch.  And he had insulinoma.  The
prescription bottle I found was indeed from Dr. Weiss' office, and it
was for Pediapred.  I trashed everything that was in the carrier (the
pediapred, a tube of nutrical, a white bath towel covered in ferret poop
and urine, and a handful of Dr. Weiss' business cards).  I scrubbed the
carrier down and rinsed it.  It's in OK shape.  One of the spring hinges
on the door is broken.  I might endup tossing it after all.
 
Next I sorted through the crap that was left on top of the cage.  And I
became even sadder.  I found TWO harnesses and TWO leashes.  Now I tried
to tell myself that maybe Gitch was just spoiled and had two sets.  But I
don't think that was the case.  I think there were two ferrets.  The
harnesses were hand-made out of the thin elastic that goes into the cuffs
of sweatpants, and one of them had a huge jingle bell on it.  I tossed the
harnesses and one of the leashes.  The leash I kept is a nice, leather one
in greatshape.
 
There was a nice, heavy, ceramic food bowl in great shape.  I scrubbed
it, but I'm going to put it in the dishwasher too.  There were two water
bottles, a large and a small (carrier-sized), which are also getting
dish-washered.  Two corner litter boxes that looked like they had never
been used, the paper sticker was still covering the inside back of one of
them.  I'm keeping all of this stuff for now, cleaning it up real good,
and then figuring out what to do with it.
 
There was a rubber (RUBBER!) toy that had chew marks along the bottom of
it, and a cloth mouse cat-toy that had the tail ripped off.  There was a
nylon tube-style hammock that had three of the four hangers ripped off (I
found one of them still attached to the cage) and the inner liner ripped
up.  This stuff was all thrownout.
 
Then on to the cage.  When I pulled the slider tray out of the bottom, I
almost cried.  It was full of pine shavings!  Now hopefully, the owner had
just put it in the bottom to collect spilled water or missed litter box
aims.  But I doubt it.  There is a large, rusted spot on the tray, but
otherwise the tray is in good shape.
 
There are a couple of rusted spots on the cage itself, like on the bottom
and in some corners.  Upon closer inspection today in the daylight, I
realized that there is a hole rusted through the bottom of the cage, about
the size of the palm of my hand.  This completely changes my thinking on
what I was going to do with it.  It would be really hard to ship, as it
doesn't look like it breaks down very easily.  Plus with the rust hole, I'm
not sure anybody would be interested anyway.  But I'd be willing to drive
it to a shelter locally (Baltimore, MD).  So let me know if you are a
shelter in the area and would like a cage that needs work.  Or if you're
going to be at the Baltimore Ferret Club's show on 10/28, I can bring it
there.
 
The latches that hold the doors closed are gone.  The bottom door opens
from the top and lays down on the ground.  The top door is on the top of
the cage and it is pretty big.  It's got two ramps, a full level in the
middle, and a full top level.  It's about as tall as my ribs (hmmm...maybe
3 feet?).  I removed the PVC tubes and threw them out.  They were coated
in muck (like old urine and fur) and not worth restoring.
 
As for the other goodies, they are easily shippable.  So if any shelters
need a couple of corner boxes, water bottles, a leash, or a semi-functional
carrier,let me know.
 
I'm feeling much better now that I've done all of this.  My fiance thought
I was nuts and wasting my time.  But it's given me satisfaction.  I feel
almost like I knew Gitch (and his mysterious cage-mate?) after exploring
all of his things.
 
Sandee, if you happen to see a newcomer named Gitch that seems pretty sad,
let him know that me and the Herd are thinking about him.  If he's lonely,
please introduce him to Gizmo and Sandy.  Thanks.
 
=====
Aileen & the Herd minus two Herdlings
Slinky, Kyle, Noel, & Rootie the beagle
Fresh from the pain of losing Sandy. We love you, sweetheart.
Still missing Gizmo. We love you, too, baby.
 
Check out the Herd's website at:
 http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/7414/index.html
[Posted in FML issue 3212]