Hi all--
 
Obscure ferret reference:
In the book "Nop's Trials" by Donald McCaig (about a border collie) there's
a qote: (dog's POV) " ... noted to lingring oily smell of a polecat who'd
passed through 3 days ago ... "
 
The book is set in the Shenendoah River Valley in VA, USA.  Are there wild
polecats in this area, anyone know?
 
RE:  Impulse buying ...
My first ferret was an impulse buy.  I saw her, played with her, and fell in
love with her.  I turned teary eyes on my boyfriend and said, "We can't
leave her here!" He said, "Oh yes we can--you're probably allergic like you
are to cats." So I played with her some more, made sure NOT to wash my
hands, and made sure TO touch my face and rub my eyes.  No swelling.  No
itching, no rash.  Ah-ha, not allergic!  We went to dinner and talked about
buying the ferret.  Dave was against it because we were in Ohio and leaving
for VA in two days.  Then he got his paycheck, which contained $10 per hour
for 75 hours, $35 per day per diem pay, and a lump sum for travel pay.  Ha!
Our truck was dying so we went out and bought a new (well, very much used)
truck to get us to VA.  And we went to visit the ferret again.  When she
climbed from my shoulder to his and gave him kisses, he clutched his wallet
and said, and I quote, "OUCH!" Ferret was $139.  all her supplies brought
the bill up to $200.  We brought Smokey home (to a motel) in a travel
carrier, which the pet store guy said was fine as long as she got a lot of
run time.  Her "war dance" on the hefty bag of dirty clothes scared the heck
out of me that night, and w/in an hour I was very sorry we hadn't bought a
book about ferrets.  I was afraid to touch her.  Dave was not so cautious,
and we quickly realized she was playing.  She was never a biter.  The next
morning we left very early to get on the road to VA and stopped at the pet
store 2 hours before they opened.  The guy we'd bought Smokey from was
there, having coffee and cleaning cages, etc ... and we pounded on the door
until he agreed to sell us the book about ferrets.  I read the whole book
out loud in the truck on the drive.  The drive didn't faze Smokey one bit,
even when the muffler fell off and we had the radio cranked and were
shouting conversation.  What a doll.
 
We learned a lot from Smokey about ferret-proofing, corners, shoes, and
bungie cords.  She loved bungie cords.  They were all tangled up in a box,
and she would tug and tug and tug until she got one loose, then hide it in a
dresser drawer.
 
When we got a puppy a few months later, that didn't faze her a bit.  When we
got her spayed (tho' she was supposed to already *be* spayed*--surgery
didn't keep her down for more than 1 day.  The long drive back to MN was
fine with her.
 
She was a love, a sweetie, a brave and bold girl, and I was very sad when
she was confiscated by animal control and tested for rabies.  I had no
support group like the fml, and I knew no one who knew anything about
ferrets and rabies, and she had indeed bitten a little girl's face 15 times
for reasons unknown.  She tested negative, of course.  She had never, ever
been caged (well, except for a few days after I stepped on her and broke her
ribs and my own heart) until her stay with the little girl's family, and
I've always wondered if she had some kind of "cage snap" that made her bite
the child after escaping her cage late one night.
 
Anyway ... my impulse buy turned me into a very responsible, loving ferret
mom, and now I have 5 ferrets, and a 4 level cage, that they get out of 4-6
hours a day.  Much simpler and less destructive than free-run 24/7.  More
litter box hits, too!
 
Funny thing happened yesterday ... my mom was amazed when she looked into
the nice carpeted cage with hammocks, two dining areas, one huge litter
box ... "That's A LOT of ferrets" was her comment.  Later she asked me this:
"Where do you see yourself with those ferrets a couple years down the road?
What's the purpose of having them?"
 
I'm staring at her going, "What?  What?  We HAVE them.  We LIKE them.
That's the purpose." She gave me a weird look, like we should be opening a
business called, "Mice R US" or something, rodent control.  Sheesh.  And
here I've been on a natural high for two days because 2 of 3 new rescues eat
BUGS, for goodness sake.  BB and Uno, my heroes!
 
Everyone take care and give KODO kisses to your babies!
 
--Sheri
 
(and  Pepper, Mort, Uno, Feather, BB (ferrets), dog Harley, and SO Dave).
 
"Until our paths find us together
        may you forever
            go in peace."   --Mike Rayburn (comic entertainer and folk artist)
[Posted in FML issue 2007]