Melissa & gaggle here - apologies in advance for a long post, but it's
been a while. :)
 
welp, i got another ferret - a dark sable male from some apparently small
breeder in ohio - the pet store wasnt giving out the name of the breeder, so
if any of you can give me information on an OH breeder that supplies a small
Ann Arbor, MI pet store, let me know.  :) He's about 11 weeks now and an
enjoyable terror - he makes Potpie look downright *sedate* by comparison.
No, she's still not accepting other ferrets, but the new guy's in my
bedroom, while Potpie's cage is now downstairs and she has the run of the
rest of the house, and she realizes she's got the best of the deal, so she
doesnt even complain when she smells him on me.
 
I named him 'Noodle,' originally because my boyfriend's brother's dog was
nicknamed that and i thought it was cute, then later (as my boyfriend said)
because i kept calling him that and 'it stuck, and that's how you can tell
he's done.' He's rapidly becoming much more cosmopolitan than either Potpie
or Friday, regularly going places with me, and yesterday we took him to the
ice cream parlor (cute story alert).  About five hundred six and seven year
old kids run up to me, including one adorable and very articulate blonde
girl...
Girl: May i pet him? Is he a ferret?
Me: Sure, but he's only 11 weeks old, so watch out if he tries to nip you.
Girl: What's his name?
Me: Noodle.
Girl: That's a very cute name. You're a very cute ferret, Noodle.
Noodle: *squirm*
Me: Do you have any other pets?
Girl: No. *long pause* Just a guinea pig and two dogs and some fish.
Me: That sounds like other pets to me!
Girl: But i dont have a WEASEL!
Noodle: *squirm*
 
Anyway, hee hee.  Noodle's doing well on the litterbox and nipping front;
I've got a friend who has a champagne ferret (luvly butter colored fur)
named Gozer who's an absolute chomping terror at two months, but Noodle's
biggest flaw seems to be that he's violently allergic to dust.  Btw, i
gave Gozer's (from Ghostbusters - the name of 'The Destroyer.' hee!)
owner a printout of the Ferret FAQ, and he /loved/ it. Thanks, guys :).
 
Again anyway, me n Gozer's owner have been interviewed on our ferret
ownership for the local newspaper, who got a report of the Ferret FAQ's
existence 'over the wire' and decided to do some followup. Gozer and
Noodle handled the interview admirably, with Gozer digging a large hole
in the lawn we were sitting on and Noodle dumping water all over himself.
Tomorrow (friday), though, we get to do the photo shoot...
 
Editor: Well, i'd like to do something realistic.  I heard you do a lot of
online stuff, and get a lot of your ferret information over the computer.
I thought we could get a picture of you in front of your computer, with
your ferret sitting on your shoulder.
Me: Umm, i dont think any of mine can be coaxed to sit still long enough
for that.  'Realistic' probably means either getting pictures of them
running back and forth, or us holding them still.
Editor, disappointed: Oh.
 
I dunno, maybe their photographers are more talented at willing squirmy
fuzzies into photographable poses than i am. :) So, *knocking on wood* im
hanging around hoping we dont get misquoted horribly and that the
reporter (who has a 1.5 yr old son who's apparently more of a problem
biter than Noodle OR Gozer, hee hee, one point for the ferrets' side)
really called Vicki Daldin and Micki Wingate, whose numbers i gave
her...She was very nice, and very interested, and wrote very very fast.
Heh. I'll scan the photos and pass along a summary of the article when it
happens. :)
 
Aaaand finally, I'd like to welcome Ed Belisle to the list - wonderful
story, Ed; and thank mister moderator person BIG and talented Dr. Willaims
for being such the excellent voices of impartiality and wisdom on this
list.  Maybe i'll convince Dr.  Daldin to get an account and join us :).
 
Melissa, Potpie (sit STILL?!), Friday (on loan), and Noodle (eat, poop,
chomp).
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Melissa Litwicki                                    [log in to unmask]
    Radio Controlled Operation In Vivid Six Ways Of Movement With Reality!
[Posted in FML issue 1247]