>From: HL Russell <[log in to unmask]>
>You really ought to be careful Karen, I have recently been informed that
>smacking yourself in the forehead can be bad for you. I just can't
>remember who it was. Must be all that smacking I have been doing recently.
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. That is, if I can find it. I think I've
lost mine. Or perhaps the ferrets stole it and hid it somewhere. I'd
better go check. ;>
>From: Bob Church <[log in to unmask]>
>I have 18 ferrets and I always wish I have less than half of that.
I have 6, and I think 3 is the perfect number, for me anyway. Am I giving
any of mine away? No. But eventually I will, through the inevitable
deaths, reach 3, and there I shall stay. My reasoning for the number 3 is
that if you have 1 ferret, it may be lonely. So then you get another. But
eventually you will lose one, and now you've got 1 lonely ferret again, but
it may also be further depressed from losing its only ferret bud. So if
you have three, when you inevitably lose one (hopefully only one at a
time!), you still have 2 ferrets left to keep each other company while you
find and integrate another ferret to bring the total up to 3 again. You
can also pretty easily travel with 3 ferrets.
>... I readily admit I delight in animals of all sorts and that is one
>reason I have so many ferrets. That and insanity. But I ended up with
>so many because I felt so sorry for the ones I saw in shelters.
That is the reason I ended up with my last ferret. He was turned into the
shelter because he was not that great with finding and using a litterbox
outside the cage. He is also deaf. And he is really really really cute.
So I adopted him. As to insanity, my zoo consists of the 6 ferrets, plus 9
birds, 10 snakes, a bearded dragon, and a toad (toads are cute! Really!!).
Oh yeah, and assorted feeder mice whose numbers are constantly changing.
And I recently nearly offered to adopt 2 cats whose owners had developed
severe allergies and couldn't keep them anymore. Thankfully I think that
bit of insanity was temporary.
Still, I am lucky to have a pet sitter who doesn't seem to mind taking care
of the crew while I am away. I know it's not that easy to do, despite the
fact that I've developed efficient ways to deal with the chores. I keep my
trips short, and only go away once or possibly twice a year.
Lots of good points in your post Bob, and something everyone should think
about.
Karen
[log in to unmask]
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"The snake is an animal. It has a backbone and heart. It has red blood and
drinks water and eats food. It breathes air and feels fear, just like every
other animal in the world. And it's in a body that is the hardest thing for
the average person to understand."
-- Dave Barker, herpetologist
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If you love ferrets, check out:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~crassi/index.html
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[Posted in FML issue 2813]
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