I live in Norman, Oklahoma, and got my first baby ferret 12 years ago -
my husband, sons, and I had always been fascinated by ferrets but didn't
know much about them.  My 13 year old son and I went in a local pet store
to buy crickets for something he had at the time (he's had everything
crawly and slimy at one time or another)..  the owner of the pet store
was yelling at a little gal that worked for her that she shouldn't have
accepted that ferret from the delivery guy because it was a runt and
probably wouldn't make it and no one would want it... bla, bla, bla..
well my son and I got teary eyed and looked at each other and then ran
for the cage where the baby ferret was and snatched it up and ran to the
counter to pay for it and take it home with us - the owner said it was a
tiny little runt male - we knew so little about ferrets, didn't know if
we had a male or a female..  We named it Houdini.
 
The next day we went to another pet store and bought a ferret book, cage
and supplies.  After reading the ferret book, we thought we knew it
all!!(ha)
 
Turned out that Houdini was a very tiny, fiesty little female - the name
changed to "Hootie Toot" and that she was!!  She was a "Hoot" on one hand
and a "Toot" on the other.  A tiny little white with silver markings -
she taught us everything that we "did not KNOW about ferrets" - we may as
well have just thrown out that ferret book - our house changed quickly
into a "ferret proof" home even with carpet covering on all doorways so
our carpet wouldn't turn into shreads if someone closed a door and Hootie
was not welcomed in!!  After she managed to climb up on our "rubber"
washer hose and bite through the hose and cause a flood at laundry time
(we went through three "rubber" washer hoses and three floods before we
decided "she" was the one with the ferret brains, and we were "suppose"
to have the human brains, so my husband purchased a hose that wasn't
rubber and she wasn't interested in it)!!  Yo!!  We were on our way to
being able to outsmart her..  oh yeah, right!!
 
Her whole life she was a fiesty one - she was determined to stay right
under your feet when you were walking, and if you accidentally gave her a
little boot with your foot when walking, she would attack your foot and
decide to straighten you out but good!!  She won all our hearts and souls
in the Mobley household..  guess we like fiesty and onery or something!!
Well sure enough, the potato chip theory proved to be correct in our
household - when Hootie Toot was nine months old I received a tiny black
sable female that I named McGuinn for my birthday - then eight months
later I saw a 6 week old male dark-eyed white with stripe that I couldn't
resist in a pet store..  we named him Mojo.  McGuinn turned out to be the
boss of our business - Hootie could care less, and Mojo was deaf and
learned sign language and tricks - he didn't mind McGuinn being the boss
and just followed her everywhere and into everything..
 
A friend of mine worked at the Animal Shelter here in Norman, Oklahoma,
and another friend worked at the Little River Zoo - thus became my
non-intentional "ferret rescuing"!!  I would get calls from these places
to come pick up a ferret(s) that had been found or dropped off, then my
name got out and around to other shelters in surrounding areas, and so
on and so forth.  I didn't plan to be a rescuer - it just happened and I
have yet to turn down a ferret that someone doesn't want anymore, etc.
etc.  etc.  I have been so very lucky in locating wonderful homes that I
have adopted rescues to.  As my husband says, I don't know why ANYONE
would adopt a ferret from Sue because she is so picky about who gets one
of her ferrets and she follows up and checks up on them often!!
 
Thus became Newby's story.  Two years ago in July I received a call from
an animal shelter in a surrounding area that had a ferret they wanted me
to pick up from their shelter..  It was Newby, a gorgeous large male,
white with gray and black markings with a white stripe on his head,
around 3 years old - yep he was deaf.  He had been badly mistreated by a
high school boy and trusted no one.  My husband and I brought Newby home
determined to win him over..  eventually we did.  He came to love us and
we loved him.  He loved our cats but hated the other ferrets.  He would
attack them and show no mercy.  We quickly decided that he would have to
be kept separately and let out each day to play separately..  and so the
two years with Newby began.  I had many offers to adopt Newby (he was a
big boy and gorgeous) but I just couldn't do it - Newby had not had a
good first three years, and he loved and trusted my husband and me, and
we decided we just had to keep him and love him and not take a chance on
upsetting his world ever again.
 
I was blessed for two years to love and nurture Newby.  He never forgot
his years of mistreatment, but he loved me back..  When Newby left to go
to the Rainbow Bridge last Sunday, it has been very hard for me not to
concentrate on the mistreatment he dealed with for three years, and
instead remember the last two years of love and nurturing he received
from me and my family, and the love he gave back.
 
Sue Mobley
and the Mobley Bunch: Ricky, Jamocha, and Darla
Welcoming Newby to the Rainbow Bridge: Hootie Toot, McGuinn, and Mojo
[Posted in FML issue 4241]