I spent most of my two-week vacation with Alicia and Dino at Ferret Wise.
It was great to see them again after over a year.  We spent most of the
time at home, but did run to Magic Wings to see the butterflies.  We
also explored some of the local venues.  One stop was at a bank to see
Alicia's art displayed.  She is doing great work, being invited to show
at a prestigious New England show this month.

The fur kids are so sweet.  Austin is always trying to get into the room
in back of the shelter and Albus goes flat ferret if he thinks he's being
ignored.  But, when the soup arrives they share it before letting any of
the others know it's there.  Biscuit is doing better now that she has
become incorporated into the group.  She was quite sad when Gravy died,
but now dances on occasion.  Blossom is a cute, solid little girl with a
sweet personality.  As I'm sure you ve seen, she is the new spokesferret
for Ferret Wise.  I'm sure Jeremiah is looking down from the Bridge,
very pleased with his successor.  Jeremiah, Jr.  Is a dear as well.  He
arrived a few days before I left, but already was screaming less (after
all, he can t hear himself so he doesn t know how unnerving it is) and
learning how to play like a real ferret should.  Bouncer and Merlin found
homes the first few days after my arrival.  They went to loving homes
after thorough screening of the new parents by shelter mom.  Updates on
them are looking good.  They are both happy in their new homes.

Poor little Nestle, on the other hand, is very depressed.  He has
lost all his cage mates: Annabelle, Marie, Jeremiah, etc. and feels
abandoned.  Unfortunately, he doesn't tolerate the others, so he is alone
in his cage and at during his playtime.  He had stopped eating or playing
after Jeremiah went to the bridge.  He laid on top of Jeremiah for a very
long time trying to keep him warm.  He had to be removed from Jeremiah's
body since he wouldn't leave on his own.  Alicia and I spent a couple
hours one night scrubbing walls, floors, etc. to remove Jeremiah's scent
since Nestle kept looking for him in all his usual hiding spots.  I spent
time holding him and hand-feeding him duck soup when I could.  It seemed
before I left he had stopped losing weight.  I hope he gets his spark
back before it's too late.  He was a horrible biter for years, so he
doesn t want me to tell, but...he gave me several kisses the last couple
days I was there!  He also had a little glimmer in his eye a couple
times.  When he did that, he put his teeth on my arm and applied just a
small amount of pressure as if to say, EI still have teeth, I m just not
going to use them on you.

I know Alicia will do all she can for little Hop a Long if he arrives at
Ferret Wise.  Her knowledge base for caring for these sick and injured
animals is incredible.  I have called her myself quite a few times over
the years for advice and help when one of my ferrets had medical issues.
The information she has provided has been invaluable.  It's amazing how
much Alicia does for the shelter kids, as well as all the work she is
doing for education.  Right now she is also working on a publication for
vets.  I'm excited to see how that turns out.  What makes it all even
more impressive is that she is doing all this with a disabling injury and
chronic back, neck, arm and hand pain due to a car accident years ago.

Of course, all this care is expensive and the shelter income doesn't come
anywhere near paying all the expenses.  Not only does she have to provide
care to the kids in house, but she is also paying for all the care for
the hospice ferrets at other homes.  Lucky is a perfect case in point.
He still needs close to $300 for his upcoming surgery and the money just
isn't there.  The bake sale right before Mother's Day was helpful, but
no where near covered the expense of just one surgery.  Jeremiah, Gravy
and Boo Boo required huge amounts of money for surgery and vet care prior
to crossing the Bridge.  At this point there are no resources to pay for
upcoming care.  I know everyone is tight with money now, but I think it
would be a nice memorial to Jeremiah if everyone could join me in sending
a contribution to Ferret Wise to help with all the recent and upcoming
vet expenses.  There are also ferrets available for foster grandparenting
if anyone is so inclined.  Many of the hospice ferrets don't have
sponsors at this time.

I'm looking forward to my next visit to Ferret Wise and reading Blossom's
updates.
[Posted in FML issue 5263]