Got a call this evening to go pick up a stray ferret.  The caller was a
young woman who babysits (when I got there, she had a half-dozen kids
ranging from 2 yrs to about 7 or 8, all well-behaved and happy) and had
been called outside by the children.  Apparently, a strange woman had
driven through the apartment complex, stopped by their building, opened the
car door and dumped out a ferret before driving off.  When the children
pulled her outside, she found some older kids that lived at the complex
"playing rough" with the ferret, about to drop it off the second story
landing.... approx 10 feet straight down onto concrete.  She grabbed the
animal, took it inside, and called animal control wanting to know what to
do.  They gave her my number.
 
She'd kept the ferret in the bathtub (happy choice!  cool there, as hot as
it's been outside) with a dish of water, and since she didn't know what to
feed it she had offered a "bit of everything." I saw hotdog slices,
lettuce, fruit, and bits of popcorn in the tub.....
 
Poor thing is an albino male, no more than a year, year and a half old.
Coat is short and rough looking, like an undercoat with no guard hairs,
filthy tail, long thick nails.  He was doing his best to be polite, leaning
into a cuddle and ear rub, and sniffing gently towards the children, but
hanging onto me with all four feet and umpteen hundred toenails like he
was afraid of being dropped.
 
I stayed and chatted with the rescuers for a few minutes, answering the
kids' questions about ferrets and explaining that the PetTaxi was kind of
like a car seat for ferrets... couldn't have a critter "not buckled up" in
the car.  Good kids. :-)
 
He's curled up now in a quarantine cage, hiding underneath the clean
bedding.  I'm not going to mess with a bath or nail clipping for a while -
let him get over the trauma of his "little adventure" first.
 
Any suggestions for a name?  There's already a "Lucky" here, so can't use
that.  He'll be available for adoption after quarantine and vaccinations
are completed.
 
I also have other ferrets in residence at the shelter that could use good
homes.  If you're in the El Paso/Las Cruces area, or within reasonable
driving distance, and interested in giving a loving, permanent home to one
of these critters (many are older or have special needs), please drop me an
email and let me know.  My adoption requirements are listed on my web page.
 
Carla Smith  <><
WhyNot? Ferrets
http://www.whynotferrets.com
ICQ:  29478475
member, Rio Grande Domestic Ferret Club, El Paso, TX
"Every pet deserves to be loved, and to have someone cry over them when
they're gone."
[Posted in FML issue 2739]