Well, Chris and I drove out to Mission yesterday to pick up the 11 ferrets.
We came back with 9.  Seems two had escaped between the time I talked to
her and the time we got there.  After seeing where they were kept, I can
believe it.
 
Keeping it brief: we dodged growling dogs chained to posts and stepped
through piles of animal feces to the back of their trailer, where a rickety
miniature structure housed all the ferrets.  Rusty wire surrounded the parts
where the wood wasn't big enough to come together, and a moth eaten tarp
covered the top.  Inside was frightening.  A dirt floor ("It's got wood
under it now.  Before it was just dirt a bunch dug their way out") and huge
pile of rocks in one corner for them to *play* in.  No litterboxes, a filthy
blanket a bucket of food.  Didn't see any water bottles or dishes.  Thank
the lord the food was Iams kitten, although it looked liberally "laced" with
another product as well.
 
All 10 ferrets were roaming around inside, whole males and females, little
and big, no concern for what went on there.  Some of the jills are missing
patches of fur where the males had been picking on them.  It stunk.  "Boy
they sure do shit alot" said the woman.
 
Her daughter was swinging them around and smacking them indiscriminantly,
just for the heck of it.  She was *tossing* the terrified critters to me to
put in carriers.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
 
What we brought home (minus one that she couldn't bear to part with) are the
following:
 
Angel - an adult albino jill (oddly her eyes glow green in the sunlight, so
I suspect she isn't a pure albino) who seems to have some kind of
neurological problem that gets her walking around in a tight circle
continuously.  Friendly though.
 
Barney - a 5 month old very large albino male, we think he was from Angel's
litter this spring.  He's pretty friendly, aside from an ocassional nip that
he can easily be trained out of.
 
Tennyson, Yeats and Butler (give me a break, I'm an English major, okay?
:-)) are three 11 week old sable males, lots of spunk and a tendency to nip
at hands, but no bleeding is involved.
 
Emily, Kenya and Annie are three 11 week old sable females.  One of them
could be considered a chocolate actually.  One has a *really* broad head for
a jill.  They are all sweet and friendly.
 
Finally we have Bronte, a sweet broad faced sable who either was the mum of
the youngest kits or is about to have a litter - no one knows, it seemed.
She is very tiny and sweet and has been trembling since she arrived home.
 
Benny, the big champagne male who is Barney's brother may be arriving this
week.  She couldn't part with him, but apparently her husband may throw him
out.  *sigh*
 
They all fell to fighting over the water bottles the moment we loaded them
into cages, but several went and used the litterbox.  Yay.  They sure are
adorable critters.
 
Sheena
Wherret Ferrets Halfway House and Ferretry
Ferret Association of Greater Vancouver
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[Posted in FML issue 1707]