Hi all,
 
My name is Tracie and I'm new to the FML and wanted to introduce myself and
all my babys.  I'm from CA., now transplanted in VA.  I never saw a ferret
when I was growing up being in CA.  not even on TV!  When we moved to VA we
went to Eden Farms in Goochland co.  btw... they make great cages!  and saw
our first ferret.  Well, needless to say, we fell head over heels in love.
I bought my husband our first lil bundle of joy, Mittens, for X-mas 1998
and she was 6 weeks old.  I found our local ferret shelter, Richmond Ferret
Rescue League, run by Marleen Blackburn, and wanted to help.  We helped by
fostering 3 of her shelter babys, Missy, Otto, and Buck.  We loved it!  we
were a business, and one happy family!  We took all the ferrets to the VA
State fair and our Mittens won first place for panda/blaze, yes, We have
the prettiest panda/blaze in the state of VA!  Several of our others won
various prizes, too!
 
A couple of weeks after the fair we lost buck, our vet isn't sure w/o an
autopsy why he went over the bridge, it happened so fast, he quit breathing
on the way to the vet.  We brought him home and the whole family fell apart.
We have a huge memorial in our back yard for him and visit it often. We all
miss him terribly!  He was a very mischievous guy...would steal toilet paper,
shred the whole roll, and make nests under our bed for all his buddies! He
was also a daredevil..wouldn't think twice about jumping from any height he
could climb to..even with a whole roll of TP in his mouth! We included a TP
roll on his memorial to honor him..!
 
I bought another large cage for mittens and you know what that means!
"empty cage syndrome" hit.... Back to Marleens!  We are now baby-sitting
Mac, Misha, Wacky, & Sheika.  And are they ever great fun!!  They go back
to their parents in May, when they graduate college, and I'm gonna miss
them!  We also have 2 other babys, Trinity was a foundling that someone
found in their dog pen and turned into the local pet store, I just happened
to be there and said I would love to take her!
 
Trinity, Mittens, Otto, and the newest member...... Scooter Elliott get
along famously.  We bought Scooter Elliott for my 12 yr. old sons b-day,
and is just like Buck!!  Steals everything!  And he's just as much the
daredevil that Buck was.
 
Thats our business story, as it stands today...but as soon as we get a
bigger house, and more cages...we'll be expanding our business by leaps,
bounds, and "DOOKS" !  Maybe we'll even start our own shelter on our side
of town...who knows?
 
We hope you enjoyed our story, and we're excited to be part of the FML!
 
Dooks to you all!!
 
Tracie, Lorne, Todd, Rochelle, Jaycen...and the "Lump-in-the-rug Gang"...
Mittens, Otto, Trinity, Missy, Scooter Elliott, Mac, Misha, Wacky, and
Sheika Oh, and we can't forget "dumb-dog"...Coco, who thinks she's a
ferret!  She grew up with Mittens.  Pictures are available!  e-mail me at
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[Posted in FML issue 3302]