The rescues are very rewarding.
 
Drac was kept in a small pet taxi, fed dog food, and unnamed for the first 3
years of his life.  Then his owner gave him to the pet store which in turn
gave him to Nancy to care for.  The unnamed ferret became Drac E.  La.
Nancy's ferrets share my home.  When Drac came in there was something
definitely wrong.  He had very little muscle control.  He didn't know how to
climb and was constantly falling off of the couch.  It was probably 3 months
before he could slowly climb and not fall.  Now more than a year later he
still is not a "normal" ferret.  Last night as Shari played with the ferrets
and the clear tube I had the opportunity to study his actions.  Drac plays
slowly and has to think about everything before he does it.  He doesn't run
through the tubes like the others, he walks and stops to think about it
several times.  Shari wrapped the tube around her shoulders and body.  The
other ferrets would climb up and down and around with little, if any
problem.  Drac was very slow and would get to a crook in the tube and stop,
not willing to "chance" it.  It was sad to see.  Drac isn't mentally
challenged, he is just very cautious and may physically not be able to do
what the others do.  He gets frustrated easily because he is not as fast or
agile as the others and often times his frustration is exhibited in anger.
The others tolerate the anger and usually run off to find someone more fun
to play with as Drac looks after them with his beautiful sad face.  We can't
replace the vital exercise or nutrition that was missed the first 3 years of
his precious little life but we can make it better from the time he came to
us.  Drac is very much loved and we believe he is happy.  It makes my heart
ache to think about his first 3 years but it warms my heart to see him
contentedly curled up with a group of ferrets.  Someday we hope to see him
play like a normal ferret, but perhaps that is a little unrealistic.
 
Hugs to all.  tle
[Posted in FML issue 1703]