From Susie Lee, at the elderly-and-hospice-care "branch" of this
Rescue(as promised here's more! :).  here are the names and a
little-bit-about some more of the sponsor-ables.
 
Felicia (My Dear) Ferrette:
almost 8 years old, has lost a long-time cagemate, to recurring cancerous
tumors plus age-related breakdowns (Bitsy Boops) and then bonded with
Baby Doll Babushka and, just as soon as they touched noses, Simone
So-Lovely.  Felicia Ferrette has had two skin melanomas removed over the
last year and a half, and now, at nearly 8 years old, and showing some of
that age-related frailty, is losing some fur from apparent adrenal onset.
She had a Lupron shot about two weeks ago, which should be showing some
effect in another week or two.  Meanwhile, dear, extra-gentle Felicia
Ferrette is very close with her other two elderly ladies.  (they make a
ferretone-"klatch"!  :)
 
Simone So-Lovely:
estimated between 4 and five years old, Simone So-Lovely has bonded very
closely with her bestest-best friends, Baby Doll Babushka, and Felicia
Ferrette.  She's tiny, but as the "youngest" of the three elderly ladies,
she defends their three-room pen (they have very spacious "quarters" in a
former large-dog birthing box with an attached "lavatory"-box of formica
and plywood with a huge hammie big enough AND low enough for all three)
against outside-invading-in aggressive ferrets like Walnut WeLoveYa.  We
tried to take Simone So-Lovely out of the house to go visiting, but she
went into such a depressive state, we had to turn around and put her
Right Back where she is at-home and able to readily nose and cuddle
around her dear friends.  We apologized to little Simone So-Lovely for
causing her such emotional trauma, and have solemnly promised her we
shall never take her away from her defended home nor her closely bonded
friends.
 
Molly Blue-Angel:
This is the little ferret who wouldn't die.  Tiny little Molly Blue-Angel
came to us in her 7th year, literally skin-and-bones from a quiet, but at
wits'-end-upset member of the Navy's Blue Angels team.  Little Molly
Blue-Angel had severe ulcers, having emotionally "picked up" her humans'
agitated state (we know the ferrets feel what we all feel, that's called
Empathy.  All ferrets are Highly Empathic!) and then wouldn't eat
anything but raisins and ferretone, and, not getting any protien, she
went completely blind (in humans, this kind of blindness is one effect of
"beri-beri", from severe lack of protien foods).  Our vet got her right
away on pepto-bismol and amoxicillin for her ulcers and some other stuff
I cannot now recall, and I put together some plain chicken babyfood with
liquid ferret vitamins and iron mixed in it for her and got that trusty
doll's bottle, feeding her around the clock, first every half-hour, tiny
bits, then every hour, a bit more, and so on, until almost two months
later, I have Molly Blue-Angel fed every four hours, all around the
clock.  And she is nine years young, this year, about to turn ten this
January.  A little ferret who wouldn't die.
 
Coco LeCreme:
When she came to us in her fifth year, three years ago (in 1999) she had
THE most gorgeous siamese-colored ferret-coat we have Ever seen!  And
even though she had been garage-kept by herself by her now-retiring
former owners, Coco LeCreme had a wonderful "mothering" tendency for
other "orphans" who came in, first "mothering" Sandy LeQuick, and then
(and ever since) Molly Blue-Angel.  Even though she's 8 and Molly's 9, we
have a very close bond seen between these two.  Coco LeCreme regularly
washes and grooms and wraps her still thick-furred but age-dulled coated
self around still tiny and frail little Molly.  One of our Very Favorite
pictures shows Coco LeCreme looking out of the cage in a defensive pose
while aged, clind little Molly Blue-Angel faces inwards but huddles
up-close to her sighted defender.
 
(heroes all, aren;t they?  Loyal and true hearted, no matter what.)
 
Susie Lee, chief cook and bottle-washer at the Elderly and Hospice-branch
of the Ferret Rescue of Pensacola.
 
See photos of these and others (even if they happen not to be fully
labeled) at www.weloveferrets.com .
[Posted in FML issue 3991]