Hi everyone:  First and foremost, to Kevin Woodward:  Please do not even
consider returning Casper to his original owners.  You may have read my
similar circumstance last week.  I inherited my beloved Taz from a young man
who wanted to get a dog instead, and I would go to the Supreme Court if
necessary to hold on to this fuzzy angel.  If anyone has a similar situation
arise, please be sure to have the owner sign a paper turning ownership over
to you, and have it notarized.  It may seem unnecessary, but you can see
where these problems arise.  Back to Kevin:  If your family has fallen in
love with Casper and he is happy with you, I think it would be a terrible
mistake to return him to people who will probably tire of him shortly anyway.
 Then God only knows where he'll end up.  Casper is now your ferret and there
is no question.  So what if they offer to buy you a new baby?  You can buy
yourself a new baby if that's what you want, but Casper is now a member of
your family, so please don't return him to the people who willingly gave him
up in the first place.
 
On the subject of treats, in all of the books I've read, the subject of red
licorice comes up, and my guys have had a small piece of strawberry licorice
as a treat forever.  They love it a lot!  They have absolutely no use
whatsoever for any fruit or human food.  I bought Fig Newton (fat free)
cookies in the fig and strawberry flavors, and a tiny piece of cookie makes
them happy as little larks.  I know there is sugar in these items, but they
get very little and have always been rather healthy and full of beans.  To
our wonderful doctors who monitor these entries, do you think I'm doing a
terrible thing, and should I have their sugar levels checked?  I've exhausted
all the other possibilities as far as treats go, and Riley (who was so sick
last year) would be lost without his strawberry newton "fix".  He had gotton
down to just over one pound when he was sick, and the other day at my vet's
office he was 2.4 pounds.  They all continue to eat their Iam's and Riley is on
a lower protein food for his liver, but I don't want to make any of them sick.
 
To whoever was asking the best way to "call" your babies and get them to
come, I can get some of them to respond by shaking their licorice jar (little
pieces of strawberry licorice in a jar).  My second baby, Murphy, however,
will never respond to that or to his name being called.  One day I wound up
one of my music boxes and put it on the floor near the couch (he was inside
napping).  He ran out of that couch like a shot to examine the little music
box.  He then gently dragged the music box to one of his many hiding places,
under an end table.  This is still an effective way to find Murphy, and his
taste in music covers a wide range.  Maybe he was Beethoven in a past life, but
he sure loves the sound of the music!  Aren't they great little creatures?
 
Hope you and your babies are all well, Judi Lunn
[Posted in FML issue 1142]