What a great idea!  The 'net is a real bonus for those of us raising
critters away from a major metropolitan area.  Having three ferrets in the
middle of Appalachia has been a real experience.  People have seriously
asked me questions like, "So, are they good hunters?" and "Do you raise them
for their fur?" (you might be a redneck if .  .  .!!)
 
A few things we've learned from our furry friends, I thought I'd share with
y'all.  First, an introduction.  All or our ferret are previously owned
models.  Students at a local university get them, decide they're too much
trouble, and then try to get rid of them at a profit.  Unable to see them go
to a poor environment, my fiance and I have established a House for Wayward
Weasels.  Thistle was our first adoptee.  We were mistakenly informed that
she was a he.  She's gotten over her sexual identity crisis and is the
sweetest personality you could imagine.  Next came Pico (engineering student
joke: Pico Ferret (farad?)).  She is probably about two years old and is a
white-footed beauty who is slowly losing her fuzzy, pug face.  Pico is the
rotten orneriest one of the bunch, but apologizes quite nicely.  Finally, we
have Oskar.  He is our only male and was claimed, by his former owner, to
not have much interest in playing.  Apparently, this guy just wasn't playing
right because Oskar loves ferret games and gets along very well with his
peers.  Oskar's nickname is "Woobie" because of his treasured "woobie"
Pittsburgh Penguins t-shirt.  The first time it went in the laundry, he
refused to sleep until it was returned to him.
 
All three cooperate on several tasks which still amaze me.  Their most
(in)famous endeavor was the confiscating of my younger brother's telephone.
It was one of those jobbies that lights up with blue neon when you take the
phone off the hook.  We found two weasels pulling and one actually pushing
the thing down the hallway one evening!!
 
Oskar is fascinated by my musician brother's rainstick.  I found him in a
room one day, lying on his back, pulling the stick away from the wall every
so often to hear the clicking clatter of the beans.  He seems to like other
things that make noise, too.  He has several squeeky cat toys.  His rubber
ducky seems to make bathtime more tolerable, too.
 
Pico, on the other hand, is a dedicate foam collector.  Foamy balls, powder
puffs, packing foam, loofah sponges.  Pico has it all and frequently
rearranges her pieces.  We travel alot from my parent's house, to his
parent's house, to our house, to my brother's house for a visit, and Pico,
amazingly, remembers where each piece is at each place.  She often parades a
piece of foam around the living room for us to admire before tucking it back
in its spot.
 
Thistle isn't as fond of things as the other two, but prefers different
activities.  We've spent hours playing with an oatmeal box with a hole cut
in one end.  She also likes the outdoors more than Pico and Oskar.  But
probably Thistle's favorite thing in the whole world is a towel-ride.  I
take the short end of your ordinary bathtowel and drag it around the house.
She hops and chuckles and rides and tackles and gnaws.  It's absolutely the
best!  And then when she gets tired of that, she goes after my feet and the
towel becomes a matador's cape and she becomes "Raging Weasel," fiercest of
the fierce!
 
Well, I suppose I've gone on long enough.  I appreciate this forum probably
more than you'll ever realize.  Ferrets are probably the most intriguing and
engaging pet one could ever share one's life with; but those who don't know,
just don't understand.
 
One quick question, before I go:  does anyone know if ferrets are legal in
West Virginia.  I've already heard that we can't take them hunting, thank
you!!
 
Well wishes from the House of Wayward
Weasels!
[Posted in FML issue 1308]