(This is a hard letter to write.)
 
My now-ex-partner and I adopted three ferrets from Furet Mon Ami (the
shelter in Carignan, south of Montreal, that has since been closed by the
city) about a year and a half ago, and moved in with our new 'family' in
Montreal.  We've since decided that we are better friends than romantic
partners, are living separately, and have been sharing the responsibility
for our fuzzies.  I had them for eight months after that and, much as I love
them and delight in their personalities, three of them _are_ a handful.  My
ex-partner now has them in her parents' house, and although they've grown on
the family, her mother wants some of her rooms back.  I don't have the
living arrangement to support them or the time to care for them properly,
and my ex-partner's job search will soon take her to the other side of
Canada.
 
Which brings me to the hard issue: I'm wondering if there are any caring,
responsible homes that would be willing to adopt or even temporarily care
for our three happy, healthy ferrets.
 
We have one male and two females.  Selk is the male, the biggest, and the
goofiest.  He loves to wrestle, steal food (raisins), open groceries for me
if I leave them on the floor, and (of course) sleep.  Frew is his sister.
Selk and Frew are both about eighteen months old.  Frew is the independent
one, and if we were to split them up to live in different places, Frew would
probably be the one that would do the best on her own.
 
Zoie is now about two-and-a-half years old, and is the smallest.  She has
the funniest personality: she is very sociable, loves to play with the other
two, and loves to curl up in sleeves or on laps.  She is also the Houdini of
the bunch: ferret-proofing for her is a constantly evolving challenge.
 
If anyone were willing to take them on, we would provide suitable cages and
other ferret-type stuff, and certainly share the knowledge and experience
we've gained in a year-and-a-half of presiding over the happy chaos ferrets
bring with them.
 
As I said, this is a hard letter to write.  I realise that part of being a
responsible pet owner is to provide a reliable, stable home for the pet.  In
this aspect, I haven't been a responsible pet owner.  Lives change, though,
and eighteen months ago I never would have imagined things happening the way
they did.
 
I'm hoping that someone who is now in the same situation that we were in
eighteen months ago, who is curious about ferrets and wants to experience
the joys of having little balls of life running around their house, will
find this to be the perfect offer.
 
I'm in Ottawa now, and the ferrets are in Montreal.  Toronto isn't
unreasonable, and I'll be driving as far west with them as Sault Ste.  Marie
over Christmas.
 
Thanks, (and dooks!)
Mike, Selk, Frew and Zoie
 
--
Michael Iles                       What garlic is to food,
[log in to unmask]                         insanity is to art.
[Posted in FML issue 2148]