Regular FML readers know that Dervish and I have moved (temporarily) into
my parents' house while my father recuperates from cancer therapy.  Neither
of my parents was particularly happy about adding another mammal to the mix
at their place, what with three stodgy cats already here.  I got a lot of
"hey, that looks like a rat!" and "she's sure stinky!" comments when I
first came, especially from Dad.
 
Poor Dervish was getting an inferiority complex, especially since the cats
won't play with her.  :-)
 
Anyway , my father is going to work now, so when he's home, he spends a lot
of time resting in his recliner.  He hasn't really been eating, or talking
to anyone.  My mom and I were getting pretty worried about him just sitting
there, but nothing we tried seemed to help.
 
When I take Dervish downstairs, I put her on her leash for safety reasons.
And every time she gets in the living room, she makes a beeline for the
recliner, so she can play in my father's afghan (which hangs over the
side).  My dad seemed to get a kick out of this, and one day picked her up
and put her on his chair with him.  He played with her a bit, and even got
a few laughs when she went for his Gatorade.  So now, whenever I have her
downstairs, he puts her on his chair and plays with her.  She even fell
asleep up there with him once.
 
I can't express what a breakthrough this is.  Before, he was depressed and
wouldn't really talk to anyone.  Since he's started the "ferret therapy",
he's started joking around again, and better still, he's eating more!
(This is the first time since October he's had an appetite!)
 
My family can't believe it.  Such a remarkable turnaround, and the
catharsis was my little Dervish!  Granted, the correlation can't be
*proven* ... but I'm convinced that it was "ferret therapy" that helped
my father overcome his depression.
 
-(TX) Meghan and Dr. Dervish the WonderFerret Pyschologist ("And all I
wanted was some Gatorade!")
[Posted in FML issue 2553]