Hi everyone!  First of all, I hope everyone and their fuzzbeans have a very
nice Thanskgiving (hope everyone in Canada had a nice Thanksgiving last month!)
I know I'm very grateful for all the joy these little guys bring into my life
(I'll have to remember this sentiment next time I'm cleaning up the entire
contents of the kitchen cabinets, like finding a potato in the blender, etc.;
yes it's unplugged!)
 
To Rochelle, re: new ferret, same dog.  I find that the introduction of any
animal into the house tends to upset the apple cart a bit, some more so than
others.  I think it just depends on the personalities of all the animals
involved. I'd just give it some time, maybe do some formal introductions, and
give extra attention to the dog. The good news is that you know your dog gets
along with ferrets. I find my dogs are good unless the ferrets get anywhere
near their food dishes, or sometimes when the dogs are trying to sleep the
little fuzzbeans annoy them. Anyway, good luck.
 
Re: digging in litter. I don't think it has anything to do with litter per se,
it's just that ferrets love to dig (similar to playing with water). The other
day one of my plants succumbed to Norman's gardening attempts, so I put the
pot, dirt and all, in a box with pretty high sides for the ferrets (in the
hopes that they would dig but not get dirt everywhere.)  I think they enjoyed
themselves immensely though they also got dirt outside of the box. Oh well.
Still, I like to find different things for them to do; even a new bag of
groceries is exciting! Wish I had their never-ending enthusiasm!
 
I finally saw the Nov/Dec "National Parks" magazine about black footed ferrets.
Besides the beautiful cover, the thoughtful article draws much needed attention
to the traditional policies that have caused whole species, such as the ferret,
to be decimated. I also saw the Ferret FAQ briefly mentioned in a clever and
amusing article in Nov.'s issue of Computer Currents (p. 27 "Through the
Internet with Gun & Camera: One Man's Journey through the Information
Superhighway Jungle" by Daniel Tynan).
 
Hi Troy Lynn--hope your photo session went well! I always wish I could bring
the little fuzzbeans when they do that, but it's too much of a risk. I've had
the dogs' pictures taken with Santa in the past for a humane society
fundraiser; they're really nice. I bet yours are great!
 
--Ronnie, food & hug provider to: Cinderella, aka Princess Anklebiter; Norman,
fearless conqueror of great heights; and Ralph, curator of the eclectic kitchen
cabinet collection.
[Posted in FML issue 1022]