Hi, all!
My Murphy has always liked to plop down in the middle of play. As near as I
can tell, it's always done right in front of me, and then he looks up at me
as if to say "C'mon, daddy, let's play!" What he seems to like best is to
have his shoulders scratched--or sometimes, to have me roll him over and
tickle his belly till he just can't take it anymore. Then he gets up and
war-dances backwards all the way across the room, dooking all the way.
When I first got both Murphy and Boo-Boo, they both seemed to sneeze a lot
too. Mostly Boo-Boo, but I remember Murph did too when he was very young.
They'd go under the couch or my bed and I'd hear Boo-Boo just sneezing up a
storm from the dust under there. (OK, OK, so now you all know my house is a
bit dusty in places. At least the dust bunnies under the couch haven't
become migratory yet!) They are my first ferrets, though, so I had no frame
of reference, and in retrospect I wonder if it's normal. They did gradually
grow out of it. I just wonder if maybe ferrets aren't more irritated by
dust than other animals. Or maybe it's just that their noses are right down
in the dust all the time, and they're forever sniffing.
Funny story--one time, I was working on the fireplace and the door was open.
I had to step away for a minute to get some tools, and Boo-Boo decided she
just had to see what that really big, dark cave was all about. (I'm sure
you can all see where this is going.) She decided that ashes are just about
the greatest diggable substance in the world.......until she remembered to
breathe. This started a sneezing fit, which just kicked up more ashes and
made her sneeze more. By the time I got to her and could pull her out, and
she was grey and gritty from head to toe. I bathed her thoroughly, and kept
an eye on her for several days. No ill health effects (she's about the
toughest little critter I've ever met), but I think she now has a healthy
respect for the fireplace--which suits me just fine.
Cheers all,
Eric
[Posted in FML issue 1542]
|
