The only quirk I've noticed in my ferrets is how spiteful they are,
especially my little girl Jinx.  She doesn't seem to like my boyfriend
(reason being perhaps he refuses to address her by her real name and
instead opts for 'the bitey one') and as often as possible takes to using
his video game controler as a chew toy, always leaving a nice pool of
saliva for him to clean up.  And one time, I swaer, she looked right as
me as she knocked over my glass.  I mean Right At Me, she didn't even
look away to aim!  As a group, they refuse to utilise the cage I spent
eighty-five dollars on and filled to the brim with bedding and instead
sleep cramped in their plastic toy box I have stuffed with easter grass
I paid seventy-five cents for.  That's some hard-core spite.
 
I must mention something that makes me a little sad, however.  Napoleon,
a big fuzzy albino who was found wandering, will not struggle to get out
of your arms no matter how long you hold him.  Some of you may think 'so
what?' but it makes me wonder how he was treated before he came into my
hands.  Personally, I think training your ferrets to sit still for that
long is forcing your will unnecessarily on another living being.  I do
realise this is needed sometimes (medicine, cleaning ears, ect.) but
anything that isn't vital I try not to force.
 
Now in regards to Ms. Pyrons comments, I too cannot describe the love I
have for my weasels no matter how spiteful they are.  I believe they are
put on this earth to heal the sad heart.  Not too long ago I took up a
well-paying waitressing job completely unaware of the true nature of the
man that owned the place.  Two days into my training I was horrified to
find out he was verbally and physically abusive to his wife (who also
worked there) and was an alcoholic and drug user.  I quit two days later
but that man honestly made me question my faith in humanity.  It was only
then I started seriously considering becoming a veterinarian (I'm only
19 and still haven't picked a major), as my faith in the kindness and
genuine purity of anmials will always be strong thanks to those little
ferrets.  This is what the heart cannot convey, the sense of warmth and
incorruption one feels holding something so enveloped in unconditional
love and joy.  Sorry to make this so long.
 
---Candy H., Jinx, Napoleon, (and now) Ceasar.
[Posted in FML issue 4857]