This last post tells about one thing I have done right, several I would
change completely, and one thing I have left to do.
 
Chubie and Dunkin' are typical of most ferrets in that they love their
Linatone and Ferretone.  I have a squeaky toy (and a spare) and they come
running when they hear it.  It is very useful if I need to put them in their
cage, but I also try to use it at random times just so they don't get any
set expectations.  I would highly recommend this to anyone, no matter where
your ferrets live.  You know the talent they have for getting into
unexpected places.
 
If I had it to do over again, I would be a hundred times more conscientious
about knowing exactly where the little guys were.  Due to my inattention,
Dunkin' has given me several heartbreaking scares and days of worry.  The
first occurred on the passage from Florida to Belize.  We were early ( or
late - however you want to look at it) and expected to make landfall at
Ambergris Cay in the middle of the night.  Obviously, this wasn't such a
good idea, so we hove to for a few hours to let some time go by.  This is a
maneuver for slowing the boat way down and allowing it to drift in a safe
and comfortable manner.  We did a few chores, enjoyed some relaxed time in
the cockpit, colored our home made Belizian flag, and did one more
navigation check.  When we were ready to get underway, I looked for the
ferrets to put them back in their cage and couldn't find Dunkin'.  I
squeaked the toy, hollered, searched, tore the boat apart and squeaked some
more.  Although I thought we had been careful and hadn't seen him even
trying to get to the cockpit, the obvious conclusion was that he had gone
overboard.  I won't even go into the anguish and mental state that this
caused.  After repeated searches, scanning the water, and motoring in ever
widening circles, we just had to conclude he wasn't with us.  I arrived in
Belize the next day in a state of complete decompensation.  My state of mind
was so bad that I had left the forward hatch open during the night,
resulting in a completely soaked bunk.  As a result, a bed and breakfast inn
gave us a dry bed for a few days while we were getting things dried out.  I
didn't enjoy Belize.  I felt that I had ruined my long planned cruise.  I
regreted my decision in buying Dunkin' and taking him on such an ill-fated
trip.  I knew that I was the most cruel, inattentive, careless person in the
universe.  I grieved, cried and grieved again.  And all for nothing.  On the
third day after our arrival, I was putting things back together when I felt
a tickle on my toe, looked down and saw a little white critter.  It wasn't a
ghost, it was our very own Dunkie.  How did this happen?  I later found out
that he could get into the bunk via the top of the hanging locker if certain
things were in exact places on the setee.  Evidence shows that he spent the
days trapped in a locker under the bunk.  I think he was stuck and couldn't
get out until he lost some weight, as there was no evidence of him anywhere
else on the boat.  He was hungry and thirsty but otherwise just fine - his
rascally little self.
 
This same little Houdini had another two day escape that occurred in a
similar way - through my inattention and lack of awareness of his abilities
and ingenuity.  This time we were at a dock.  He was gone for two days and,
just when I had searched everywhere, talked to everyone I could find, and
almost given up, he plopped through the forward hatch in the middle of the
night right onto my face.  I deserved worse, believe me, and he deserved
better.  In addition, I gave the local people a very peculiar idea of what
we gringos do to pass the time.  They got so used to me walking the area,
squeaker in hand, that they finally stopped watching.
 
Since then, I don't leave the boat even for a minute, unless the bug screen
is securely snapped into place.  If the companionway is open, I am watching
the ferrets.  If they are in the cockpit or on the deck, I keep an eye on
them.  It has been 5 months since the last escape, and I hope it will be 100
years before the next one.
 
The last thing I intend to do to insure their safety, is to put together a
ferret 'boarding ladder' and teach them how to use it.  I think what I have
planned will work, and, with the help of a few friends at strategic places
in the water, the little guys are going to have a few survival lessons and
learn how to get back aboard on their own.  This doesn't mean Chubie and
Dunkin' will get to roam at will.  It is just a small insurance policy that
might pay very big dividends.  I know of three different boats who have lost
their cat overboard at night while the boat was at anchor.  If they had had
such a system, they might not have had so much guilt and grief.
 
Well, that's about it.  Thanks to all of you for allowing me this space.
Comments and suggestions are very welcome.  I will be on the FML this week,
then it is back to Roatan and the furry fuzzbutts.
 
Shirley, Chubie and Dunkin' on Chelsea B
[Posted in FML issue 2241]