My big male ferret, Frankenweasel, did something last night which neither I
nor my neighbor, who was the target of the behavior,  have ever even _heard_
of before, let alone seen in a ferret, and we wondered if anyone out there
has ever seen a ferret do anything like this.  We think maybe Frank has found
God -- only apparently God, in this case, is my neighbor Gary!
   When Gary came over last night to pick up his email (he is, like me, a
member of American Online, and uses my computer to access it, as his is
broken), Frank came running out of the bedroom just as Gary walked in the
front door.  Frank immediately planted himself in front of Gary, only instead
of doing a big mock-attack directed at Gary, like he often does with this as
a preliminary, while Gary and I watched in amazement, he suddenly lowered his
head and raised his rear in a ritual posture of submission, as to an Alpha
male, as if he were bowing down toward Mecca, or prostrating himself before
the king.  He went through this whole ritual dance of submission, bowing,
rubbing head and chin along the floor with his belly also on the floor, and
so on, closing by lying down flat before Gary, belly, chin, and chest on the
floor, eyes looking up worshipfully at Gary.
   Has Frank found God in the form of Gary?  Was he just putting us on?  And
why was this directed at _Gary_?  Gary comes over to visit frequently, but
_I'm_ the one who feeds them, cleans the cage, picks them up, cuddles them,
and so on on a constant basis.  Or is it because I'm female, Gary's male?
 Anybody have any idea what the little guy had on his mind when he did all
this?  Much thanks for anything you can add to our understanding of weasel
psychology!
 
[Posted in FML issue 0829]