Howdy there everyone and hugs to all!
 
Now the story here is my *first* ferret sighting since I had seen them a
few times in the pet stores.  However, this was my first ferret sighting as
someone's pet.
 
I guess I was in my second or third year of university - around 1988.  I
was on the bus when a gentleman got on the bus at one of the stops.  As he
passed me to go sit at the back, a ferret popped its head out of one of the
large pockets of this guy's jacket.  The critter was VERY cute and quite
well behaved.  He happily sat on his buddy's shoulder, occasionally
climbing down into his jacket and back up again.  Gave the guy kisses,
looked happily out the window and around at the surroundings but didn't
make any move to get down or cause any havoc.  *EXTREMELY* well behaved -
the ferret had no harness/leash on - and obviously well loved.  I was
fascinated and thought this fert was just the cutest little thing!  If I
recall correctly, the ferret was either a light sable or silvery grey -
definitely not a dark sable or albino.  I was more fascinated by this guy's
comraderie with his pet than exactly what the ferret looked like.  It was
wonderful to watch!
 
It wasn't until 1991 that I got my first ferret, Gushi. Boy do I miss him!
He unfortunately had to be put to sleep this past summer due to
complications with insulinoma.  I had a roommate at the time who was
*extremely* allergic to cats but I really wanted a pet and since I had a
full-time job (finally!), I felt I could handle the responsibilities and
could afford any vet bills, etc that might come up.  I had seen ferrets in
the pet stores and discussed this option with my roomie.  So, after doing
some reading and such, he and I went off to the pet store to see if he'd
have a reaction to handling these guys.  And WHOOOOOOO-HOOO-HOOOOEY!!!!!!
he didn't!!!  The next week, I went back and got Gushi.  Ferret math hit
about three months later with the addition of Nik (also sorely missed).
Talk about night and day.  Gushi was quiet, laid-back - a real marshmallow.
Nik was rambunctious, a LOUD dooker and turned out to be the alpha
everywhere he went.  Buster came along the following year.  I think he had
been bought from the pet store and then returned because he was a bad
biter.  It took ALOT of patience (and tears and band-aids) but he finally
became (well, with me anyways) a real lover.  Mommy's boy - he also became
Daddy's (Jasper's) boy too.  But adrenal problems became too much and in
the summer of 1998, I made the hardest decision I've ever had to make and
took him to the vet - he just couldn't cross the Bridge on his own.  Jasper
and I both got to say our good-byes and bawled our hearts out.
 
Now, Geisha, Frodo and Tessa grace us with their antics, their kisses,
their nibbles and their love. Friends ask me why I don't go with a pet
that lives longer and I just tell them that I'm hooked. They have so much
personality and zest for life, I just can't pass up the opportunity to
share with them some of my love and attention. Even if it was 20 years, it
wouldn't be long enough.
 
Thanks for listening to me go on - I had only planned on giving my two
cents worth, but this looks more like a buck-forty-nine's worth!!  ;->
 
Take care everyone and hugs to all! oxo
 
George, Jasper and the Crew - missing Gushi, Nik and Buster
[Posted in FML issue 2925]