- Bears - well, I live on Bear Creek, MD and I have seen over a 1/2 dozen
  bears.
 
- Bunny-Bears / Ferrets?  I have or have had a total of 5 so far, and
miss them when it is to hot to have them along.  My first ferret spent a
summer car-camping with me (and yes, I kept close eye on the temperature)
in 1996 in the West Virginia Mountains.  During the hottest months we
lived in a nice air-conditioned hotel.
 
I remember the first night Shelby-Girl taught me her version of "Chase".
She egged me on in the hotel room until I stomped over to her.  She ran
away.  I waited behind a bed or behind a door, and she would run over
to find me, and then squeal in delight and run off when she spotted me.
 
She came with me every where and I missed her when I was away.  Sandy, my
next ferret (who died recently - Shelby died a few years ago a few weeks
before her 4th birthday during surgery complications) had her own lessons
to teach me.  They all knew their names, and they all know there name
now.
 
BTW: ferretone and ferret-vite given as a treat while calling them, and
then putting them first near the end of the bed, then on the floor, and
then farther and farther away while calling their name seems the easies
way to get them to come when called quickly... just remember to give
the treats randomly, be patient, and let them take a few weeks in daily
lessons to get it right before giving up.
 
--- nothing is better than to call one of your ferrets and have them peak
around the corner to see if it was you, and then have them run over in an
accelerated fashion when they realize it is you who called them!
 
Mark H.
[Posted in FML issue 4428]