Hello!  My husband and I have been married for just over a year.  Both
of us are true animal lovers.  I always say if the world was populated by
our household pets and minus the people, the world would be a better place.
This past summer we made the decision to be ferret owners.  We had been
looking for a pet for months, but found it difficult because of my allergies
and the housing restrictions.  Finally, we saw our oldest "son" in a local
pet store and fell immediately in love.  We named him "Woody", but for some
reason "Woodrow" was the name that stuck.  Ever since the end of July he has
been the highlight of our lives.  In August we made yet another decision,
because Woodrow is such a wonderful pet we would get one more.  So we found
"Calvin".  Immediately they got along perfectly and are the best of buddies!
Two ferrets are additional work (they really eat and defecate alot), but the
extra work is well worth it.  We love Woody so much that we knew for him to
be completely happy he needed a play mate.
 
    Because Calvin was so young when we got him (6 weeks old), he was still
suckling, Woodrow's ear became a faux nipple and up untill this day when the
two of them wake up from a nap we find Woodrow ear drenched with saliva.  It
is the cutest thing.  The funny thing is, is that Calvin is much larger the
Woody, yet still is a baby at heart.
 
    Both my husband and I have had many pets (turtles, birds, dogs, cats,
hamsters and rabbits) however, ferrets I think we would both agree are the
most fun, cute, intelligent, mischievious animals a person could own.  We
love our ferrets and treat them like they are the sons we don't have yet.
However....
 
    We have one dilemma, we reciently bought a new sofa, and yes they chewed
holes in the bottom liner (creating their own personal hammock), we aren't
too impressed because it wasn't exactly a cheap sofa.  And one day in the
future I would like to have leather furniture.  We would hate to restrict
their access to these parts of the house because this is where we spend the
bulk of our time, and we like to have them with us.  What can we do?
 
    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, untill then enjoy your
pets and remember, whatever you give to them they will return three-fold.
 
                                                        Victoria, Mauricio,
Woodrow and Calvin.
[Posted in FML issue 1376]