Hi all,
 
I'm Laurie Kramer from Batavia, New York (near Buffalo).  I'm owned by 4
great ferrets; Koty, Comet, Jasmine and Isabella.  All are MF except for
Isabella; she is a private breeder/shelter ferret.  All range from 4 yrs to
2 1/2 yrs respectively.  My soulmate ferret Tinker passed over the Rainbow
bridge on Oct.4th of this year due to heart and fluid problems and I'm
still having a hard time with it.  Comet had his left adrenal removed last
year and is perfectly fine now.  All others have not been sick.
 
I also have a 15 year old son named Doug.  He likes his fur
brothers/sisters almost as much as I do, but Koty with give him a 5 minute
kiss whenever he enters the room!!  I usually will get a quick one.  I have
noticed that all of them want to get picked up and loved more now than
before, or maybe I notice it more now because I have more time.  We also
have a Tiger cat, Ragdoll cat and a guinea pig- that squeeks way too
much!!!
 
My Albino male Comet is the sock stealer of the family!  We had a shopping
bag on the chair with two new packages of socks and two packs of underwear
and he knew which ones to attempt to take to his hidding spot.  He too can
pick the only sock out of a load of newly laundered clothes.  Amazing!  He
likes all colors, sizes, dirty or clean.  He looks like a polar bear with
his full coat this year.  I hope that doesn't mean it's going to be a bad
Buffalo winter.  We've been quite spoiled lately!
 
I joined the list shortly after getting Tinker- which was my first ferret,
in late 1995.  I found the FML through a site that I searched- can't
remember which one.  I appreciate all the work that BIG does for this list
and I enjoy reading it again- I had to drop off for a while when I went
back to college.  I especially enjoy Bob C. and his humor,(although he
loses me on the scientific stuff :)
 
In my spare time I enjoy daily long walks at the wildlife refuge in my area
(Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge).  I took Tinker there for a walk(carry)
two weeks before he died and it took a few days to be able to go back there
after he had passed on.  It was just too heartbreaking-he loved it there.
But when I was able to go back, I discovered the flock of Trumpeter Swans
that I had been searching for all summer!  I think Tinker had something to
do with that chance meeting.  Now the swans hold a special place in my
heart.  The swans are part of an Ultralite migration project that the folks
from Arlie, Virginia are working on to restore them to Northern U.S.
(remember Fly Away Home?) (Sorry for going off subject BIG)
 
I respect all who are helping out our ferret friends one way or the other,
and I shed tears for all the ferrets that I read about here that have died
or are sick.It's really heartbreaking to know that there are so many in the
shelters.
 
Happy Holidays!!
Laurie & Koty, Comet, Jasmine and Isabella & Tinky in spirit:(
see my kids at http://www.iinc.com/~reefs
[Posted in FML issue 2895]