Well, I have been reading the list now for some time but always in large
clumps at a time and then am too tired to respond, but I decided it was time.
I have introduced myself a time or two but since there are a bunch of new
subscribers out there, I will do so again.  I live in central PA and have a
zoo in my apartment: 3 birds, 2 fish tanks, 3 cats, a very hyper black lab,
and five atrocious (ahem, I mean loveable!) ferrets.  SInce they are my loves,
I will intro them too: Shadow, a silver, 2 yrs old, my first sweetie, he
*hates* other ferrets (he's a bit racist...he will tolerate other silvers);
Lilly, 1 1/2 yrs old, you'll read more about her in a minute; Here Comes
Trouble, going on a year, the name says it ALL; and my two new adoptees,
Ricky Rat, whose show name will be Ricki (I am NOT a) Rat, and Sassy, who we
call Sassifras (sp?) although Sassy fits her just fine, they are 3 year old
siblings we adopted at Ferret Expo.
  First, about abused ferrets:
  Lilly was abused, well, actually neglected.  We wanted a second ferret, one
from a rescue, one that needed special attention.  After a few calls we located
 Lilly, who we were told did need the special attention.  We travelled 4 hours
to get her, just outside of Philadelphia.  She was a tiny thing, very scary--
by that I mean she just hid under the furnature of the rescue and wouldn't
come out without attempting to take off a finger.  Desiree, the rescue owner,
told us she was a pet store ferret, but got too big, so she was shipped back
to the warehouse (!) where she was left, completely neglected, for months.
She didn't like people much, she was so timid.  We took her home, sure we
could help her.
   Well, she wasn't an overnight success as I guess we had hoped.  She was so
timid, and she just didn't respond to our attempts at play.  And boy did she
bite!! So we decided to give her a lot of chance to run free, hoping she
would warm up to us.  Meanwhile, my roommate had this bird she loved, and
she knew how to care for the bird better than Lilly, so unfortunately while we
didn't really neglect Lilly, she didn't get the special attention that she
was crying out for.
   Then the tragedy struk...the ferret killed the bird.  Nobody's fault, it
just happened.  My roommate, acting out of character, declared that Lilly
was no longer hers, and Lilly became mine.
   I am the ferret nut around here.  I was really happy that Lilly was mine.
I had my own ideas about how to care for her, and I was glad for the chance
to try.  We had had Lilly for about 2 months at this point, and she was not
getting better.  In fact, she seemed to have new problems.  I mentioned that
she bit, a lot.  She was also losing weight, and lost a LOT of hair.  I took
her to the vet and they said that it was due to a change in the photoperiod
(?!) not to worry.  OK.  So like I said, we just let her go, hoping for a
miracle.
   So then she was mine.  I consciously spent TIME with her, not just letting
her out, but holding her, and talking to her.  She liked the talking part.
She stopped squirming when I soothingly talked to her.  She also didn't try to
bite me, unless I had FOOD in my hand.  That was another thing I did...I gave
her a lot of treats.  Nothing like a bribe!
   Result:  No Lie...in about a week she turned into the biggest sweetie.  She
gave me my first kisses and I almost cried.  She even curled up and slept in
my lap without me having to hold her.  Oh, I forgot one thing...we had adopted
Trouble in the time that Lilly wasn't friendly, and they FOUGHT like crazy,
out for blood.  ONE WEEK after I started paying attention to Lilly, they
became friends and cage-mates.  They look almost like twins and they sleep
curled up in a hammock together.  There was our miracle.
   The other great thing was almost instantly, she began to gain weight and her
hair grew back.  She showed for the first time at Ferret Expo, and placed
tenth out of all of the alters in the Championship Alter class, even despite a
broken tooth she got before she came to us.  Now there is a success.
   Well, that is enough of that story, but I do love to tell it.  It really
 makes me feel like I did something special for one very needy ferret.  (inci-
dentally, my roomie would love to have Lilly back...she realized she was wrong
in blaming Lilly in the birds death...TOO LATE! she's MINE :)(:
 
The other thing I wanted to let everyone know is that I have started a Ferret
Rescue, the Central Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue.  I need to spread the word
among those who might be able to use the rescue or who can refer ferrets to
me; the closest rescue to us on the east is Harrisburg, 1 1/2 hours away, and
to the west is Pittsburgh, I think, which is 3 hours away.  So if anyone out
there comes across the opportunity to spread the word, thanks.  If anyone
is interested in a copy of our information sheet (about the rescue) and a
business card (or more, if you have chance to distribute; the sheet and card
would be great to hand out to vets and humane societies throughout PA) just
e-mail me and I will send them to you.  Address: [log in to unmask]
 
    SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FERRET SHELTER: IT'S FOR THE FERRET'S SAKE!!!
Thanks for listening to my babble!
Say hi to all of your furries out there for me!
-Kymberlie Becker
 
[Posted in FML issue 0735]