Sheena:
 
Are you sure your fuzzy thinks your SO is a tormentor?  Tail wags can mean
playtime.  My daughter discovered that both Eloise and Sabine *love* taking
rides in plastic bags.  The most fun is being dragged across the floor or
around in a circle in one.  We only do it for a short time and don't start
out too fast, just in case they only wanted to play in the bag and not ride
in it, but usually they will stay put and wait for more when we stop.  They
come running to the sound of one of those grocery bags being rustled on the
floor, and they fight over who gets to ride.  Once in a while they even
agree to share the ride.  (Of course, we do not do this with the filmy,
dangerous plastic.) They also like to be lifted up a swung gently in the air
from time to time, especially if it ends in a ride over the floor.
 
I had heart failure over a few games my daughter invented with our fuzzies,
since I was over-protective when they arrived.  However, Rebecca was 13 (not
3) and loved them very much.  Being a kid (which is perhaps something your
SO is closer to being than we fussy mommies are) she had an instinct for fun
that never hurt the fuzzies and taught me something besides.
 
Flying with Ferrets:
 
I'm sure that some people will disagree with me, and probably for good
reasons, but I would definitely take the chance and smuggle my ferrets under
my seat on an airline if I needed to take them with me.  My parents set this
bad example for me in my childhood when we returned from 2 1/2 yrs in
Germany on a military transport plane.  Our parakeet was in a small cage in
a gym bag with a doll sticking out the zipper and carried by the youngest
child.  We couldn't even think of putting him through months of quarantine,
so we gave it a gamble.  The budgie contentedly muttered to himself in quite
audible tones, but none of the passengers ratted on us.  Not even the big
old WAC Sgt. who saw us all in the ladies room during a stop in the Azores.
The fuzzies don't chirp, and if their nails are short the sound of digging
may not travel too far.  Just give them a romp before you pack them up, and
be sure they have lots of food and water and something to snuggle in.
 
Judith White
[Posted in FML issue 1495]