Six of seven of our guys came to us second-or third- hand.  As a result,
all had names when we got them.  We changed only one, and that was the
first ferret we got, a little ruby-eyed cinnamon mitt sprite whose name
started with an "M".  We simply had to change that.  In our house, animal
names starting with that letter spell disaster.  Every critter I've ever
had in my life with an "m" name disappeared.  Marty, Murphy, and Myrtle
all ran away from home (cockatiel, dog, and cat) under very mysterious
circumstances.  Having never had a ferret, I didn't want to tempt fate,
so we changed her name to Vienna, appropriate we thought for a beautiful
little cinnamon.  It suits her regal demeanor, too.
 
Aspen (albino gib) and Rupert (chocolate gib) came next, named by their
previous owner who had to move to Alaska.  Aspen is in his beautiful, full
winter coat right now, just like the town for which he's named.  Ru is
our kissy Roo Roo...the "chamber of commerce" ferret because he's a great
poster child for ferrets...well behaved, adorable, loving, social, and
clean as a whistle..  never misses the litter box.
 
Then came Chango and Skillet, a pair of older sable gibs.  They were
forfeited to me by a young woman who loved them too much to neglect them
any longer.  Chango is named for the monkey god of the Vodun religion.
Since he's now geriatric and very calm, I can't imagine him ever being
very monkeylike.  Skillet is just sweet lil Skillet who struggled back from
a very, very nasty case of ECE a few months ago.
 
Next came Jakar, a sable gib, too.  He was a shelter adoption.  He came
with his sister Tagia, who, try as we might, could not be broken of a VERY
nasty (drawing blood on a regular basis) biting habit.  She returned to the
shelter where, by all accounts, she is now extremely content.  She has been
deemed a permanent resident due to her behavior problems, but she is in
very good hands.  Jakar remains with us, however, and is doing beautifully
with our crew.
 
Finally came Psycho.  Psycho did actually come from a pet store (the
infamous Petco), where he had turned into a huge, five month-old chocolate
gib having been passed over by customers time and again.  No one wanted the
big guy when there were so many cute, little kits for sale.  The manager of
the store had named the rambunctious ferret, claiming he was a "bully." I'd
be a bit aggressive too if I had been locked in an 18x24" cage for several
months, separated from all other ferrets, and left where customers could
poke at me through cage bars.  At home with our guys, he's a gentle giant
at 4.5 lbs, the youngest of the bunch at just under a year.
 
We love our "hand me down" ferrets.  They all come with a little history
behind them, including a delightful variety of names.  Unless the names
start with an "m," I would never dare change them! :)
 
Mary Jo
(Note: I've never run away from home.  I can't.  The animals demand that I
stay and play with them!)
[Posted in FML issue 2947]