Today I received some sad news.  Putz, my first rescue, crossed the bridge
last night.
 
I could not have been more excited when I became a ferret owner in 1992.
Kit, my first ferret (who is still going strong) was a great replacement
for a bad marriage.  I knew so little about ferrets, and started reading
everything I could get my hands on.  By 1996, I had acquired two fuzzies
(Powder) and thought I was in ferret heaven!  I went into the local pet
store and there in a cage was a sign that said "Used Ferret." I stopped
dead in my tracks - how could there be a such a thing as a 'used ferret'?
The owner of the store explained to me that this ferret was no longer
wanted by his family and they had given him up.  He was alone in the cage,
curled up in a ball and sleeping.  He looked so lonely, and though I could
not really afford it, I paid the $60.00 and left with Putz.  The store
owner told me when I purchased him that he had a better chance than most.
Most were given to shelters or humane societies or worse.  I could not ever
imagine there being a used ferret, and Putz became my first rescue.  I got
involved with the local ferret society, and started helping with rescues.
Soon my brood grew from 3 to 20 - with several ferrets in and out of my
home.  I learned about ferrets both inside and out.  I worked to provide
homes to fuzzies so there would never again be a used ferret.  Putz found a
wonderful home earlier this year with a caring couple who needed a ferret
that would be content to sit on a lap and be loved.  While he was alive
Putz touched hearts too numerous to count.  He dressed up every year as
Santa and tolerated me and the weather as we raised money to help other
ferrets.
 
Skeeter, if you are listening, welcome Putz to the clan.  Tell him I miss
him.  Tell him me and many others loved him.  Let him know that because of
him many fuzzies have found safe and loving homes.
 
May there never be such a thing as a 'used ferret.'
 
Liane Novick Beckwith
 
Acting Director
Washington State Ferret Association
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre
minds"  Albert Einstein
[Posted in FML issue 2869]