Hello all.  I ve been MIA for awhile.  I started a new job and through
the holidays life has been hectic.  I hope you all had a safe and happy
holiday season.  We were blessed with a nice quiet holiday.
 
I wanted to give everyone an update on Merry, my little sable girl with
lymphoma.  She was diagnosed in June 02 and had surgery to have a mass
removed from her intestine.  Merry is currently having chemo and has
been doing well, even eating on her own and playing with the others.
Unfortunately we ve had a small set back.  Merry lost an ounce, isn t
very active and has stopped eating her kibble as of a week ago.  I am
hand feeding her again and that seems to make her happy I just hope she s
not in a lot of pain.  I can always tell if she s not feeling good, but
how do you know if they are experiencing pain?  Does anyone know how to
gage whether or not she s hurting?
 
A note on the ferret photography
I find I get the best pictures when I first let my three ferts out of
the cage.  They are usually so into what they are doing that they don t
notice me sneaking up and clicking away.  When you have your camera
ready, wait until your fert is immersed in his/her wrestling match,
or digging the carpet, etc.  Once they are in the same place for a
nanosecond, take your pictures.  Don t try to wait for the perfect shot,
most of the time they move before the click anyway.  I ve got some wild
action shots of Zira and Pippin locked in battle.  They usually don t
even notice I m there.  I have a digital camera so it s easy enough to
just delete the bad pictures and start over.  Another thing I ve tried is
ferret napping an unsuspecting sleeping fert and putting them all in a
pile on the couch.  As they start waking up and stretching, I m snapping
pictures like crazy.  I get some really cute ones that way.  Good luck!
If anyone needs a professional model, Merry is a total ham and w ill pose
for the camera all day (if you can keep her nose out of the lens)!!!
 
It s good to back on the list.  I m looking forward to the next card
exchange I ve got something cool planned!
 
Trish ~ Merry, Pippin & Zira
[Posted in FML issue 4022]