With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought it might be
interesting to have some ferret love stories in the FML.  And, to start
things off, I am submitting my ferret love story.
 
The Story of Shadow and Rosie
 
In February of 1987, we got our first 2 ferrets.  My son wanted a pet,
and I had been hearing about ferrets.  We started out with the plan that
we would get one, but at the pet store there were 2 sable boys that were
brothers.  One was very social and friendly, but the other was very timid
and afraid.  The timid one would cry when he was separated from his
brother.  My son insisted that if we got the timid one, he wouldn't be
happy, but if we got the friendly one, he was worried about what would
happen to the timid one, so we had to get both.  They were very cute and
cuddly, so I was easily convinced.
 
And so, we came home with 2 sable male kits.  My son claimed the timid
one and named his Shadow.  I claimed the other one, and named him Zorro.
Over the next months we enjoyed our new family members and they grew and
developed.  Shadow remained timid and afraid, though.  He spent most of
his time hiding, while Zorro came out and played with us.  Zorro always
looked after his brother, though.  When we gave Zorro treats, he would
always take some and share it with his brother.  Life was good at our
house.
 
Unfortunately, about a week before Christmas that year, something very
sad happened.  We don't know why, but Zorro's spleen ruptured.  We were
not very ferret knowledgeable back then, and neither was the vet we used.
He tried, but was unable to save Zorro.
 
I was devastated.  In less then a year I had fallen so totally for this
little bundle of energy, and now he was gone.  However, the grief I felt
was nothing compared to what poor Shadow was feeling.  He had always been
so dependent on his brother for companionship and protection.
 
My husband suggested we get another ferret, but I wasn't sure I was
ready.  However, 2 days later, while my son was in his Karate class,
I wondered into the pet store where we had gotten the boys.
 
They had one ferret there.  They told me it was a male, but when I held
it, I was sure it was a female.  She has a different color (I didn't know
what the different colors and patterns were then).  She had burgundy
colored eyes, instead of black eyes like Zorro and Shadow.  Her feet were
white, and she had a white bib.  The rest of here was a beautiful reddish
brown color, like the color of cinnamon.  She was very interested in me,
and even after I handed her back, and they put her back in her cage, she
kept doing things to get my attention.  My husband was with me, and asked
if I wanted her.  I said no, that I wasn't ready, and we left.
 
After my son was through with his class, I suggested we go back into the
pet store, so he could see her.  Again, she tried to get my attention.
I played with her some more, and eventually, my will broke down and I
decided she should come home with us.
 
When we got home, we got Shadow out of his cage so he could meet her.  I
was not sure what to expect.  They approached each other and sniffed at
each other.  For the first time in his life, Shadow started dooking.
The new little girl started dancing around, and soon Shadow was dancing,
also.  Now, Zorro used to dance a lot, but Shadow rarely danced.
 
Since it was a few days before Christmas, and since she had this unusual
reddish color, we named her Christmas Rose, and called her Rosie.
 
Shadow underwent an amazing change with the addition of Rosie.  He
decided that he had to protect her, and suddenly changed from a timid
and fearful ferret to a happy and confident one.  However, he never
wanted Rosie to be out of his sight.  If they were sleeping, and she got
up and wondered off, he would run about the house searching frantically
for her when he woke up.
 
Life was again good at our house.  In the next year or 2, ferret math
began to strike, and we added to our ferret population.  Shadow took on
the roll of protector of all the newcomers, and Rosie reigned as the
Queen of the house.  And, just a Zorro had always shared his treats with
Shadow, Shadow would always share with Rosie.
 
Now, Rosie had 2 favorite toys.  They were both small stuffed animals,
and she treated them like they were her children.  One was a small teddy
bear we called Teddy.  He was her good child.  She always treated him
lovingly.  She would groom him and gently carry him around.  We would
sometimes find him in the food bowl, and then after a bit, she would
retrieve him and take him to where ever she was sleeping.  The other
stuffed toy was a small monkey we called Mr. Monkey.  Mr. Monkey was
apparently her bad child, because she would shake him and throw him
around.
 
But, when it came time for sleeping, you would always find Rosie and
Shadow curled up with Teddy and Mr. Monkey.
 
Unfortunately, when Rosie was about 4 years old, she developed an
unusual cancer in her lungs.  By this time we had found a good ferret
knowledgeable vet, but there was still little we could do.  On Christmas
Eve of her 4th year, Rosie left us.  It was a miserable Christmas for
our family.
 
Shadow now had 4 other companions, and he handled the loss fairly well.
He continued in his role of protector.  But, he started sleeping away
from the others.
 
When we buried Rosie, we buried Teddy with her, so she would have him to
play with.  Mr. Monkey we gave to the other ferrets.
 
After a few days, Shadow found Mr. Monkey, and started carrying him
around.  After that, we would always find Shadow curled up sleeping with
Mr. Monkey.  Shadow lived another year and a half, and while he was
friendly with the rest of our ferrets, he always maintained a certain
distance from them.  When he left us, we buried him with Mr. Monkey next
to Rosie.  Now, Rosie and Shadow are together again, with their 2
children, Teddy and Mr. Monkey.
 
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: <A
http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom
[Posted in FML issue 4052]