I've had HodgePodge for about 3 monthes now, and he's been getting really
lonely.  So, I've been looking for a friend for him for awhile.  I had
wanted to get a 2nd ferret from a shelter, but was being put on waiting
lists, and Hodge was getting VERY depressed.  Poor guy.  So my fiance and I
went to a pet store to see what they had.  They were having a sale! 80$ for
a ferret.  It was almost like going to a shelter, though, b/c these ferrets
had been there a LONG time.  It was 3 males who were about 4 monthes old,
and had been there since they were 6 weeks old.  And 1 female, about 2
monthes old, with a behavior problem (very nippy).
 
We'd wanted to get a female, but after she broke the skin on me, my fiance,
and the salesperson, we started having second thoughts about her.  Then she
latched on to my fiance's shirt sleeve and wouldn't let go, even suspended
in mid-air!  She hung on for about five minutes, until finally I gently
pinched her nose closed so that she let go.  Poor thing.  I advised the
salesperson to get a ferret shelter person in there to see about the
ferret, or at the least make a point of spending lots of time w/ her.
Maybe that would improve her temperament.  We didn't get her b/c Hodge
hasn't seen another ferret since he was 8 weeks old, and I didn't feel
comfortable inflicting him w/ a personality like that.
 
So we got an easy-going male, whom we named Portnoy.  (Yeah, like Bloom
County! :)  He's a sable, but cinnamon colored.  Does that make him a
cinnamon sable?
He and Hodge hit it off immediately!  I was expecting some roughness, some
screaming, but no.  They dooked, and bounced, and wrestled.  So Portnoy is
our April Fool's adoption, and already he and Hodge can share the same cage
happily!  (Though we are still watching them like a hawk, just in case.
Portnoy is bigger than Hodge, even though he's younger).
 
Anyway!  I'm just so excited, especially to see Hodge cheer up so much, and
play harder than he has in quite awhile!
 
Carol-Anne & Dave (the humans), Eudora & Graham (jealous cats), HodgePodge
(oh boy! a friend!) and Portnoy (toys! lots of toys! wow! and a new
friend!)
[Posted in FML issue 1153]