Howdy FML Family and Ferrets!
 
Three things on today's agenda.
 
First, about dogs finding ferrets.  I agree!  If you train your dog
properly, they can be a lifesaver.  To demonstrate my point, I have one of
my favorite stories to tell you all.  When I had my first ferret, Whiskey, I
was in high school.  At the time, I also had a German Shepherd named Heidi.
Heidi and Whiskey got along well, I even have pictures of the two of them
snoozin' together.  They weren't best buddies, but they liked each other.
If Whiskey was ever hiding & we couldn't find him, we'd say to Heidi, in an
excited voice, "Heidi, Go find the ferret!  Where's the ferret, Heidi?!  Go
get the ferret!" And she would.  Well, one day I was having an end of the
school year party, and things were chaotic.  My mother had abandoned her job
of planting the windowboxes to help me out.  Problem was, she didn't put the
screen back in the window.  Bad ferret owners we were then, Whiskey was
never caged (we knew NOTHING about ferrets back then, and it even led to his
passing of insulinoma before we even knew he was ill :-(  Happily, though,
it was a result of him that I learned what I now know and started a
shelter).  So, Whiskey climbed up my curtains, out the window, and happily
dug in the dirt in the window box...until he hoisted himself right over the
edge.  Down he fell 2 stories, but landed in bushes.  Mind you, we didn't
know about any of this until later, when we reconstructed the scene and
found ferret holes in the dirt, and a big hole in the bushes with dirt on
the leaves where he fell.  About an hour after this must have happened, I
went looking for him.  It didn't take long to figure out what happened.  I
freaked out; this ferret was my life at the time (kinda like ferrets are my
life now!!)  I'm bawling, my mom's freaking, and the dog is looking like
we're all nuts.  So I went to the dog, and told her she had to help.  I took
her outside, where Whiskey fell.  "Go find the ferret, Heidi!  Where's the
ferret?"  She perked her ears up, she knew what was wrong.  We'd never tried
this trick outdoors, though.  She took off, and my mom, dad, and I went
looking near the house.  We lived in a house surrounded by woods, so having
neighbors help was not likely to happen.  Anyway, to get this story on, an
hour later, we saw Heidi, on a path in the woods, trotting back toward our
house.  I started to cry because I knew this just wasn't going to work.
Then my dad started to laugh, and I didn't know what was up.  I walked
closer to the woods, and would you believe it, there was that darn ferret,
hopping happily behind the dog.  That day the dog "ferreted" Whiskey out of
the woods and led him back home.  Pretty cool, huh?
 
Next topic: To Tim, about dying ferrets.  I do understand where you are
coming from, you don't need more depression in your life.  However, I'm
afraid that being able to talk about sad things is one of the things that
brings people here.  While I doubt that Meltdown's story wasn't the only one
that you objected to, I'm sure that it was the biggest reason you wrote.
Well, I'm sure Sukie will speak for herself, but it was very comforting to
her to know that all of us were pulling for her and Meltie.  She needed to
talk to people that understood, and that's what the FML is for.  We share in
one another's highs and lows.  We share advice.  We know how others feel
about ferret's lives (and deaths).  If only I had been on the FML when I
lost my Lilly-girl.  Let me tell you, it was so sudden and so painful for
me, I had so much trouble dealing with it.  I had a lot of guilt, trying to
determine if I was at fault in some way.  I needed someone to console me and
talk to me, and I had no one.  My fiance has different beliefs when it comes
to death, death really doesn't faze him, he believes it's not an end.  Try
telling that to me when I'll never see my Lilly-girl again, and it doesn't
hold water.  So I went to work, and you know what my "friends" said?  "Are
you gonna make a stole out of her??" They didn't mean to be hurtful, they
were joking, but the point is that they just didn't understand the pain I
was in.  If only I had the FML, if only I could have known there were others
out there that could have shared in my pain.
 
If the sad stuff offends you, SKIM!  That's what the Subject line is for.
I'd hate for any other FML reader to hesitate to share with us anything they
are feeling, even if it is sad, for fear of offending anyone.  We don't want
you to stop subscribing, but let others say their piece.  Maybe when you
lose your loved ones, you'll need to share in your grief, too.  Let me tell
you, each and every one of us will be here to listen to you should that ever
happen.
 
Moving on, now: I need you all to help me, please.  I just got an e-mail
from someone from Pet Links who said they would like to add a link to my web
site to theirs, but that it is loading *very* slowly.  When I log on and
check out my site, it loads relatively quickly.  I don't know if this is his
error, or mine, but I don't want a slow site.  That stuff ticks me off.  So,
if any of you have time, please go to my web site.  Tell me how long it
takes to load, and also go to My Page and see how long that takes.  (I'll
also take other criticism!) I just want to determine if there's a problem.
Don't post back, no need to take up FML space for this.  There is an e-mail
link to me right on the web site.  THANK YOU in advance if you can take a
moment to help me out.
 
That's all for today...Happy Ferreting!
 
Kymberlie Becker
Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
"Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM
 
[Moderator's note: I think Kymberlie is referring to:
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady/                 BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 1895]