Hi ferret family,

I wanted to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving! I have always said that
THIS is the season for ferrets. This is their time. They thrive on the
new decorations, smells, visitors, music, cool weather, snow, treats,
and most of all presents. I see spark in the eyes of the oldesters,
uncontained excitement in youngsters and joy in all. They look so
forward to stealing that occasional cookie, slipping into an open
cabinet while you cook, snagging a shiny decoration to treasure in
their hidey, climbing a tree, splashing their faces in tree water, and
greeting visitors at the door. Oh how I love this time of year. When
you have two legged little ones to enjoy Christmas with, ferrets seem
to add that little something that makes the holidays absolutely
perfect.

Enjoy your fuzzies, grab them and dance with them to the Christmas
carols. Remember that this is extra special to those hearing and
sight impaired ferrets as the added stimulus means so much to them.

Love you all, my ferret family,
Wolfy

[Attached to Wolfy's post -- guessing its for the FML. BIG]

I wanted to offer a little warning to everyone during these chaotic
days to come. Watch those doors and windows!! Below is a little account
of a Christmas mishap of ours that could have turned into something
very tragic. It is something that can happen to anyone, even the most
experiened of ferret owners.

Because of detailed advice offered by Donna Christen and Chris Matlick
who lost and found their lost little ones under miraculous conditions,
I found my Dippy who got out one night before Christmas of 2002. I
almost had the worst Christmas of my life. I lost my Jubilee before
she was one to cancer the prior year. Dippy was the apple of my eye...
my baby, I just couldn't loose another kit so soon.

We all think we know what to do when a ferret gets lost outside. And we
do "basically". But it's the most tiny detailed of actions that could
make a difference in finding your lost fuzzy. I want to share with you
guys what I did "right" that resulted in a ferret not being out in 45
degree pouring rain weather that awful night.

The key action that saved her life was asking for help. I don't mean an
hour after you have ripped apart your house and accepted the fact that
your ferret is lost outside. I mean right at the start by knocking on
strangers doors and asking for help. Nobody else in my home did this as
they had not read about Donna who lost her Eppy for months and her
valuable advice. I did. I ran over and told my elderly neighbor what
happened first thing. I barely got the words out when he grabbed a
flashlight and went searching outside on his own accord. It was this
old man that found my ferret in the woods, not us.

I'd like to tell you what I did wrong in addition to what we did right.
Loosing a ferret within a large family and among other animals is a
whole different ball of wax than if you live alone. When Dippy came
up missing, I took action and tried to direct my family as to what to
do. Panicked and upset... they often did not listen. This resulted in
absolute chaos, delaying an effective search. Extra people and extra
animals in our home also resulted in noise. Absolute quiet is needed to
"listen" for your ferret when you are searching. The sounds of even one
other person merely walking about your home or animals running about
can hinder your search. So what I've learned is we all need to sit down
today and make an action plan for anyone that is MIA. Each person in
the family needs to assume a role and do it promptly when a little one
is missing. I worked out and delegated responsibilities and procedures
to each family member. For example one person's immediate reaction
should be to round up all animals into an area (so their noise and
rummaging does not mess up the search). Another person should begin
to "walk the grid" (begin in one room, one area, and go outward from
there). Yet another individual should immediately look outside ...
and so on, and so on.

If you think you don't need to sit down with anyone living with you
and rehearse a plan, think again. Believe me things get muddled in an
emergency no matter how experienced the family is with ferrets!!! My
boys and I grew up with ferrets. Yet we were caught off guard and lost
our senses at first when we discovered our beloved Dippy was gone. An
action plan needs to be created in every home. We were doing all the
right things, but in the very beginning we did them in a disorganized
way... chaos ensued and that is counterproductive.

After everything turned out well, I've made sure this man knew that his
help was appreciated (I think our big mushy hugs helped demonstrate
that). He was a hero to me that Christmas. He didn't know a ferret from
Adam, and yet he not only helped to find her, he quickly scooped her up
without hesitation or fear so she would not get away! To this very day,
I slip a special Christmas card into his mailbox to remind him of Dippy
and to thank him for what he did for our family.

One last important thing. Ferrets are very curious; they gravitate
towards curious places and most of all... curious animals. So if you
are seeking a ferret.... if there are animals close by... look there
right away. We found Dippy under leaves playing pop goes the weasel and
trying to bite a group of ferret cat kitty toes! She ignored squeaky
toys, our voices, whistles, and all our bright xmas lights that we
turned on ... just so that she could play with the kitties. That is
how strong the draw was. Luckily she was not attracted to the often
neglected pit bulls down the street.

Wolfy

[Posted in FML 7253]