FERRET-SEARCH@LISTSERV.FERRETMAILINGLIST.ORG
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Date: | Tue, 29 Jun 1999 23:03:31 -0400 |
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Fish(er) story: I had a call today from a woman who didn't know what to
do. A ferret had followed her neighbor's dog out of the woods, then the
neighbors to their house, & they called her. She'd never seen or handled a
ferret before & it seemed weak and ill, and she couldn't afford veterinary
care. Our local vet gave her the phone number of the closest ferret
shelter (over an hour away) & also my number.
I told her I'd come over, & was already jumping ahead in my mind to, should
I take it? Pay vet bills for her? etc. But when I looked at it, I said,
That's no ferret! It was about the size of a 3-4 month old cat & looked
like a baby. Black. Long tail. Very docile, and very weak. I looked &
looked & said, I think you have a baby fisher. I made a few calls til I
found a wildlife rehab person, and they agreed to take it. A baby fisher
it was! They gave me hell for handling it (we have rabies around here) but
I am *thrilled* to have touched a fisher. Conjecture that someone found it
as a baby & raised it, then turned it loose or it wandered off, & couldn't
find enough to eat; fishers are not ordinarily an animal to be friendly to
humans.
Breeding: I've read some talk on the list recently about how breeders
should decide what traits to select for. I have a suggestion. You should
breed for house-break-ability. Breed a race of ferrets that will poop in
litter boxes exclusively! Who cares what color or size they are? Clean
floors!
Primitive air conditioning: Boy, the heat here has been wicked. I took
(someone's) advice & put a frozen soda bottle on the floor with a cloth
over it; one of the ferrets sat right on that cloth, leaning against the
bottle. Also kept a wrung-out moistened towel hanging over a fan on low. &
dipped them in the sink when they really seemed hot. They didn't like it,
but they won't swim, and it cooled them off short-term.
Philosophy: Bob C, I appreciate your wisdom about tolerance. Every
community needs its eccentrics... And one of the lessons I seem to need
to learn over & over is not to take the hook.
Hope you are all well & dooking. Regards
--sharin
[Posted in FML issue 2726]
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