Dooks to all, hugs and condolences to all who've lost their babies.  I
truly feel for all of you.
 
The other day someone asked about ferrets and their personalities.  Wow,
are they different!  Socks, our 4 year old, love to lay in front of you for
treats.  He'll tolerate a few hugs, and every now and then war dance, but
most of the time he's quiet and reserved.  Kit-"Madam purse thief" is tiny.
She loves to climb in my purse and drag things out.  She has the tiniest,
cutest face, and loves to chase towels, blankets when you 'fluff' them,
snorts in my SO's ears and just gives him goosebumps!  Scully is shy, but
will bite without warning.  She also hates black or dark pantyhose!  Our
niece was over one night and from out of nowhere came Scully.  She struck
one ankle, tearing the hose and biting through the niece's skin, and before
we knew what happened, she did it to her other ankle.  Scully also bites
our teen, and has her terrified.  I've seen Sara jump on the sink top when
Scully's nearby.  (She's bitten me once, fairly hard.  She's always been
this way).  Her sister, Genie (aka Houdini ferret) is a natural nipper
also, but she doesn't do it out of meanness.  Both these girls were
older-possibly 2 1/2-3 months when we got them.  Genie likes to climb-you,
chairs, clothes hanging, you name it she tries it.  (She, Suzy, and Kit
like it when I'm on all fours and they ride on my back.  The day they get
spurs and start yelling whoopee ti aye yay it's gonna stop!).  Calvin is
laid back, but loves to war dance.  He also tends to be somewhat of a
bully, especially to Scully.  However, he picks on Mookie and normally
looses.  He took a growth spurt and is huge now.  Suzy Derkins, his sis,
loves dancing, chasing, climbing, cuddling (when she wants it).  Mookie, my
badger/blaze big boy.  What can I say.  I call him 'my rescue'.  Got him
from a pet store and poor boy could hardly walk-nothing to climb on, no
area to run and play it.  Didn't last long--the cast and crew here got him
going within 3 days of his arrival.  Remember the cartoon with the guy who
said "which way did he go, which way did he go"?  Mookie would be something
like that.  He's a lover and likes you to chase him, likes to tunnel under
blankets and fall asleep on the bed.  I snuck upstairs one day and watched
him playing with a sock.  It was a riot.  He had it in the air, wrapped
around him, rolling across the floor, what a site.  When I put water in the
sink or the tub for them, he lands in it like a little kid splashing in mud
puddles, then looks up as if to say, hey pretty neat!
 
Ok-happy stories.My group loves it when I run water in the tub or sink for
them.  They also like it when I give them raspberries all over, rough house
them, toss them on the bed and start flipping blankets!  My husband will
get them all wound up too until they're practically running into each
other.  I have a terry cloth beanbag mouse and the other night I saw it
racing across the floor with a ferret in tow!  I took off into the hall,
and there was Calvin being attacked by the dreaded mouse!  Of course,
Calvin gave me "Bambi eyes" when I took it away from him.  Now all my small
beanie characters are out of reach (but I did notice Calvin had a measuring
tape and was doing distance measuring to their shelf) If I'm on the bed and
reading, well....I believe my group is a covert operation from FLO.  They
go all over the book, knock it out of my hands, peruse what I"m reading,
flip the pages, everything.  I think, they've learned to dial the phone
when no one's home.  I swear the last few days Kit has smelled like taco
chips.  I can envision this-cats are rearranging the furniture, the ferrets
are serving the refreshments and entertainment, then they all chip in and
clean it up before we're home.
 
This morning I decided to wear a dress, which generally means hose.  I've
learned the hard way that when I wear hose & dress, and am letting the crew
out for the morning romp, to wear sweat pants under my dress (talk about a
fashion statement!)  You own ferrets, you wear hose, gives a whole new
meaning to the words "Runners in your hose"!  Cracks my family up, and of
course, as I'm crouched down cleaning their poop pans its great fun for
them to run under the dress, peek out, and then start trying to swing or
tug on it.
 
I've been lucky so far and no one except Socks (who had ECE last summer)
has been truly sick.  So see, the babies do give great joy.  Hug all yours,
everybody, they're such a joy.  My supervisor asked me how I got rid of
stress, then she laughed.  Looked at me and said "You go home and play with
the cats and ferrets, don't you?"  I looked her straight in the eye, was
also laughing, and told her, they're the best medicine for a person that
there could be.  My husband has stated that the joy they give is worth any
cost that comes down the road.
 
=======================
Rebecca McFarlane
Secretary
Basic Medical Sciences
School Veterinary Medicine
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN  47907-1246
Phone:   765-494-8632
Fax:     765-494-0781
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste
good with ketchup"
[Posted in FML issue 2627]