Okay, those who know this real-life story can skip past it, but other
won't and it is probably the funniest thing that has ever happened to
me involving a ferret.
Once upon a time -- long, long ago -- in a land we will call "New
Jersey" -- your narrator was young, well younger, and could do justice
to things like shortie tops. With some your narrator would also wear a
strapless bra.
It happened on just such a day that she and her Prince in Shining Armor
(shining car, at least) decided to take their princeling, the young
Hjalmar, a skittish kit of great renown, for a ride to acquaint him with
automobile transport and the local environs. These included that most
miraculous place of grand wizardry, Wagner's Dairy, where cream clotted
the top of their own milk, the milk came in bottles, the homemade ice
cream was a weapon against all enemies with high cholesterol, and the
eggnog transported those fortunate enough to buy some to planes of
unimagined rapture. Besides, their elderly family ferret, Haleakala,
loved visiting there.
Being of great morality and sturdy shanks, the Prince offered to complete
their tasks while your narrator remained outside across from the stalls
with Hjalmar. In a short while they were joined by a most elegant older
gentleman, clad in precious cashmere, who showed great interest in
praising the princeling as was his natural due.
It was then that the event occurred.
Within the barn a most blood-curtling sound ensued.
"Mooooooooooooooooo!" The princeling, being of great intelligence dove
for the best place of safety...
Okay, maybe you figured out what happened then, or maybe you didn't.
Hjalmar leapt down my shirt and then descended, emerging sitting startled
and blinking in one cup of my strapless bra which by then was hanging
around my waist as a kit sling.
Moral of the story: always have a way to catch your falling star within a
pocket when the cow jumps over the moon, or something like that.
Mary wrote:
>The concern with raw meats is for the humans in the house, not the
>ferrets. Ferrets, like other carnivores, are built to eat raw meat.
Yes, and no. Yes, they are more resistant to some types of infection
like salmonella but even that they can and do get, and there are always
concerns like bovine mycobacterium (Bovine TB), E. coli, etc, as well.
It's actually a topic of debate among vets. Among vets some feel that
the infections are more than offset by improved health, others feel
that is subjective and not consistent with their own observations. On
to cook or not (ALL posts from vets):
Here are just a few things to help you. (There are more if you search.)
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG6619
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG5199
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG5668
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG6258
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG9058
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG202
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG9887
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG7171
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG168
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG1002
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG3963
(Okay, it really is a raw food thing when you see one route of
transmission.)
From a non-vet veterinary nutrition professional:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG1624
(BTW, I used to LOVE steak tartare (which is yummy and did not make me
stink) but chose to stop eating it years ago. Don't personally eat raw
eggs, unpasturized milk, or any brains, either, though Dad wishes I did.
Decades ago I got an E. coli variant more common to chimps (with whom
I worked) and the bacteria hung around in me for over three months
providing one heck of a weight loss scheme but also really ruining one
semester, so I got gun-shy on routes of such pathogens.)
[Posted in FML issue 4640]
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