In reading the post from the young lady @[log in to unmask]  I had a good
chuckle when her boss suggested that ferrets should taste pretty good
cooked with a few potatoes and a few carrots in the form of a ferret stew!
More of less I get a similar response from newcomers to our shelter - that
increduous and somewhat horrified look of shock at my mention of ferret
stew or, more properly, ferret soup.  They are aghast at the mere mention
of eating ferrets, and no small wonder, because it is the last, most
furtherest thought in their minds as they come into the Ferrets NorthWest
Shelter's reception room, their hearts just brimming with pure love for
these delightful, little four-legged, champions of boing-boing jumping,
turning, twisting and running impish delight.  It is with some measure of
pride in me to answer their questions of how do I get so many, very large,
muscular and happy-go-lucky ferrets?  My answer is in two parts: (1) They
get their ferret soup at least every other day, and (2), as weather permits
here in the soggy, damp, and nearly constantly wet Pacific Northwest, they
get to spend most of their day outside in the ferret digging grounds,
digging and tunnelling in fresh Mother Earth for as long as they like.
 
Of course there is curiosity about the "ferret soup" diet that the ferrets
thrive on and it is at this part of the visitors time here that I get to
explain what our "ferret soup" is and how it is laboriously concocted over
a hot steaming stove every day.  So nowadays, I try to never mention the
words, "ferret soup" but rather use the terminology, "Lipinski's Ultimate
Mustelid Porridge Soup," (LUMPS) which usually prompts blank stares and
further questions.  As the discussion continues and I describe how the soup
is made at home, mostly from free, basic ingredients, the interest of the
visitors is almost always heightened.  Especially since it means a
considerable cost savings to their pocketbooks, in so far that they save
money by not relying always on buying expensive commercially made kibble
ferret food.  The clincher that seems to convince them to try making the
LUMPS for their newly adopted FNW ferret is when I show them a comparison
between the ingredients of LUMPS, item by item, with the ingredients in the
ferret chow called "Totally Ferret." Most of the adopters, when they leave
here with their new ferret, leave also with a copy of my $3.00, 13-page
pamphlet titled, "LUMPS." So the posting by the gal from
[log in to unmask] about "ferret soup," as you can imagine really caught
my eye.  As a matter of fact, today on the menu for the happy ferrets is,
yes - you guessed it - turkey (including the bones) soup!
 
Here's licking at you kit!
 
Thanks, Edward Lipinski at Frettchen Vergnuegan Land (G.) Ferret Joy Land
and the org.  Ferret Endowment for Research Rehabilitation, Education &
Training Society, NorthWest.
[Posted in FML issue 2882]