I have been offline for the last week doing serious grandpa stuff. I
found the prospect of holding two granddaughters at once too hard to
resist, so had everyone come down for the annual family photo. For a
week, my house was full of family and ferrets. What could be better?
Needless to say, email and other aspects of my life became temporarily
nonessential. I'll admit that although I have a serious Peter Pan
complex, I never, ever thought being a grandpa would be so cool! It
is one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Sampson (AKA Sampson, the Mighty Golden Polecat), my DMK adoptee, has
some fans on the FML to whom I promised periodic updates.

Sampson's facial abscess is completely healed and the fur has grown
back in place. I had his teeth cleaned and he is now in perfect dental
health, excepting some dental wear caused by kibble and cage chewing.
Since he is no longer in a cage and now completely on Bob's Chicken
Gravy, raw chicken, and frozen rodents, those problems are now under
control. He loves chewing on chicken wings and bones and ChewWeasels,
so I think his oral health future is very positive.

Sampson is still very skittish of new objects and sounds. He did NOT
like Metallica or Def Leppard, but he seemed to tolerate Linda
Ronstadt's album, "Mi Jardin Azul: Las Canciones Favoritas." He also
seemed to tolerate my playlist of several hundred covers of "Stairway
to Heaven" without much problem, but since it is somewhat mind-numbing,
it may not be a good test. Later, I plan to test him with my playlist
of hundreds of covers of "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky." Sadly, he was not
impressed by Pink Floyd's "The Wall," but I think he likes Dr. Demento.

Sampson has definitely warmed up to me. While my granddaughter's were
visiting, one evening I was sprawled on the floor playing with the
ferrets and Sampson cautiously approached via several play tubes. To my
surprise, he started playing with me and even started play fighting.
I was a bit nervous about that first play bite, but Sampson did
wonderfully and his play bites are very gentle. He still dislikes being
picked up, but he now will lay in my lap and hand wrestle. My kids
thought it interesting that I would run through the house exclaiming,
"Sampson bit me!" while having a huge grin on my face.

Sampson has become a gentle golden giant. I simply can't thank Lori
enough for him. What a blessing he has become!

Bob C  [log in to unmask]

[Posted in FML 5793]