To Kari in Massachusetts: 75 slots out of 675! That's amazing. My
ferrets and I are all way impressed. Way to go!
 
To Scott Swain: Your story shocked and saddened me. You sound like
such a loving parent.
 
Although you didn't say so directly, I'm assuming Toons died of
overheating in the car. I, too, found this out the hard way, though I was
more fortunate in the end. Three summers ago, I decided to take my
ferret, C-pi, camping with me while I went caving with some friends near
Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was a typically warm summer day, and she was
fine all the way there -- of course, my car has air conditioning. We
pulled into a restaurant in Carlsbad and because I was a little worried
about her (I was always worried about C-pi, maybe because she was my
first real companion pet), I didn't stay inside for more than about 20
minutes. I, too, had left the window open, but when I returned, she was
panting very heavily and it took at least 10-15 minutes for her
breathing to return to normal. I couldn't make her drink water because
she was too busy trying to breathe (plus ferrets aren't like people --
you can't reason with them and say, "here, drink some water and you'll
feel better"). Fortunately, one of my human passengers was staying in town
and she agreed to babysit my fuzzbean for the weekend. I was afraid to
let C-pi out of my sight, but I knew it was best because she would have
died if I had left her in the car during the weekend. I always said this
person saved my ferret's life.
 
Keep in mind, I had read a lot of books about ferrets before ever buying
one. They all talked about food and cages and ferret-proofing and colors
and discipline and diseases and what have you, but none of them mentioned
the problem of car heat. I now know that ferrets are like dogs -- they
don't perspire and rely on panting to cool off their bodies in a warm
car. Moreover, I now know it's best to leave all your pets at home rather
than risk subjecting them to extreme temperatures inside a car.
 
And it doesn't have to be very warm outdoors because it gets much hotter
than that inside a car. This time of year is the time to be
careful, because it's just beginning to warm up outside again. Yesterday,
I drove to a local Wal-Mart with one of my fuzzies, only to decide to
leave and come back again because it felt kind of warm to me and my
little Esperanza was beginning to look a bit tired. This store is only a
couple minutes from my house!
 
I am so sad about your loss. Your story is very heartbreaking, and
though it may sound unrealistic, I wish I could have been there to
prevent it.
 
        Linda, Espie, Frankie, Lucky Charminator, and Angel
[Posted in FML issue 1139]