Hi, everyone,
 
I posted yesterday about another pet store rescue I did, bringing home a
five month old albino I call "Pertwee" for now.  I wrote about finding a
home for him The hard part is now finding one that is appropriate, and
somehow I suspect I will end up keeping this one.  You see, Pertwee is a
special needs ferret.  He is deaf.
 
I took Romana and Pertwee to see Dr. Hudson (our vet) today.  Romana got
tons of compliments again, and her last distemper shot.  She'll go back for
her rabies shot next week, and that's it for this year.  She is in perfect
health, and well over a pound now.  In fact, she is no longer our smallest
ferret.  At just 13 weeks, she has passed Ryo-Ohki, who is full grown, in
weight.
 
Pertwee also got his distemper shot, and I commented to Dr. Hudson about
him not reacting to sounds in the office.  It turns out he doesn't react to
sounds at all, no matter how loud or how close.  Romana.  who was halfway
across the room, jumped several times, but he simply didn't react.
Otherwise, he is healthy and he's a little bundle of energy.
 
OK, I've read about deaf ferrets, but now I need to read again.  The
techniques we used for litter training clearly won't work for him, since
he'll never hear a stern "no".  I need to learn the best methods for a deaf
ferret.  (I'd love to hear from those of you with experience.) Nip training
is not going to be an issue.  This "terrible biter" hasn't bit down on me
or anyone else.  What does that say about how he was treated at the store?
 
Anyway, I won't adopt him out to a first time owner as I did 'Sneezer, so
that makes it even tougher.  I am not a shelter, so I guess I own five
ferrets instead, and my roommate owns three.  Yikes!
 
Well, that's it from my home, overrun with ferrets....
 
Merry Christmas, everyone!
 
Take care,
Caity
 
p.s.: I am really concerned about PetSmart carrying ferrets.  They would
get zero individual attention, and I cannot imagine that most of the help
would be trained or knowledgable.  We do our Adoption Days for the local
shelter at a local PetSmart, so we'd lost that too, I'd imagine.  I am
going to write when I get back from my visit with my family for the
holidays.
 
____________________________________________________________
Caitlyn M. Martin                  "They have computers... and may have
[log in to unmask]                           other weapons of mass
http://www.caitys-world.com               destruction"  -Janet Reno
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[Posted in FML issue 2533]