Ok, my first ferret, Tawny, was an illegal alien from Ohio (Ferrets
weren't legal in Michigan at the time).  A friend and I went to a breeder
and pickeer her out.  I even got to wean her!  I had weaned/raised some
squirrels and raccoons before for the DNR, so pretty much knew what I
was doing.  She was a sweetie, a real "earth mother".
 
My second was Bear.  Got her from a cashier in a store I used to
frequent.  Her daughter owned her, and was going back to college, so
there was no one to play with her, and she had no PLACE to play but the
bathroom, as their dog and cat hated her.  I went out to pick her up,
and as soon as they opened the cage door, she leaped for my pant leg,
climbed up and started giving me kisses.
 
The second two I got were Chance and Chip.  I got them because a friend
wanted a cinnimon and that was what their cage mate was, and she couldn't
take all three.  So, I got them!
 
Then I got Pita & Cassie from a ferret rescue in Grand Rapids.  I lost
Cassie when they were being fixed, she didn't make it through the
anethesia.  She was only here a month, but I adored her.  And I knew
Pita missed her.
 
Then the vet called and asked if I'd be interested in two more?  Of
course, I said yes....that was how I got Schnitzel and Bogey.  They were
owned by a lady who worked nights at a local store and just couldn't give
them the time they needed, and she knew it and was willing to give them
a chance with me.
 
Then I got Scholar and Frodo from a friend who couldn't keep them
anymore,(but she retained visiting rights).
 
THEN, I actually BOUGHT one!  Other than Tawny, I had gotten them free.
Well Heinz was this one, and he was called that because he had Badger
markings, Panda Bear markings, Silver mitt feet, and a brown, black and
white speckled belly.....which I fell in love with the second I saw it!
He was there for a month and a half, as other ferrets came and went.  I
went back every week and played with him, and help him and finally bought
him.  He had been ordered specially for his markings.  The woman had
decided that he wasn't quite what she wanted.  It was a good thing too,
because about two years later, he got his winter coat, turned white
except for a little ring of black near the end of his tail, and he kept
it.  Never went back to his old colors.
 
Pita and Heinz died last March and April.  And I had a friend in Florida
who found me two other babies, Jewel and kismet, who I have now.  I got
them in May.  I;ve loved and lost quite a few babies, and cried buckets,
but I wouldn't have missed any of it for the world.  As much as it hurts
to lose them, not having them hurts so much more.  I need s fuzzy in my
life, and will till I die.
 
Deb & The Gruesome Twosome
[Posted in FML issue 5090]