I've been a raving slob all my life, and when Leopold first moved in with me,
our combined efforts made my room a pit.  I would leave a coke or an ashtray
around, and he would dump the first one over, swim in it, and then crawl
through the latter...filthy ferret...bathtime...plus, filthy floor.  I've never
hung up clothes or stuck them in drawers like a normal human; Leopold (who has
a thing for beltloops and fly buttons) would latch on and drag whatever he
found away.  Take off a shoe, and you'll never see it again.  But!!!  In the
past month, I, who have said over and over that it is impossible to retrain
myself to be clean after twenty years of throwing everything on the floor, I
have learned to live like not only a normal person, but an anal-retentive one!!
*All* my clothes are where they belong.  My shoes are on a shelf, looking
funky.  Everything is up high and organized.  I mop the room and wash any
surfaces as soon as anything gets knocked over, because just one ferret romp in
pink grapefruit juice means sticky pawprints EVERYWHERE.  Some friends came
over to see the ferret (does this happen to other college students with
weasels?  Nobody ever comes to see *you* anymore, they want to play with the
slinky??) and were amazed at how well he'd trained me.  I am too...
He is *much* better about the biting.  In fact, I was playing with him in a
lounge the other day, and the object of my crush-from-afar was in there
studying, *barefoot*.  I thought, oh no, so much for getting anywhere with
*him*, he's going to lose his toes and hate me.  But when Leopold crept up and
started snuffling this guy's feet (hey! that's *my* job!!), I said in the
warning tone I use when he looks particularly bitey, "Leopold..." and he just
*licked* the guy!  YAY!!
Funny ferret and jaws-of-steel story: I was on the phone last night,
and...remember I mentioned this penchant for beltloops?  He had ahold of one,
on the jeans I was wearing.  I had to get something from across the room.  I
tried to have him let go, to no avail.  So I just walked across the room and
back with a perfectly content-in-his-ferocity weasel hanging from my butt.  I'm
thinking I can train him to do this on command and I can take him to class as
an accessory...
I, too, want to thank the moderator for providing this forum, and everyone else
for participating in it.
Jodi and Fang, aka Leopold
 
[Posted in FML issue 0609]