Hello everybody!
I'm back, after unsubbing for several months...and it seems as though you're
a completely new crowd!  It's good to be back!
 
My ferret household has gone thru quite a change since I last subbed to the
FML.  Some of you may remember me talking about my male sable, Rascal, and
my female silver-mitt, Dandy... wellll... Shortly after I unsubbed, Bongo, a
5 month-old Male sable "rescue" from a pet store (the poor guy was in a
small glass enclosure with about 30 little babies!  He was going bananas!!)
came to live with us...permanently, I *thought*.  But the two boys just
couldn't get along, and as Bongo grew, it became clear that he was a bully!
Over the next 2 or 3 months, Bongo got very very fat, and Rascal and Dandy
began to waste away to shadows!  Bongo wasn't letting them eat!  Due to the
smallness of my apartment, separation was not an option, so with regret, I
began to look for a new home for Mr. Bongo.  I didn't want to see him go, he
was a sweetheart... but Rascal and Dandy didn't share that opinion.  :-( To
shorten this quickly lengthening story: Through a "God-incidence, I met a
wonderful young man who wants to go to veterinary school.  As he handled
Bongo, and we talked about ferret care, I could see that he was knowledgable
about ferrets, and very taken with animals of all kinds.  Bongo went home
with Brandon that day, on the condition that he bring Bongo to our monthly
ferret meetings so I could see him again.  :-) I saw Bongo 2 weeks later...
he was slim and trim, healthy, and *happy*.  Brandon told me he wrestles
vigorously with his two four-legged housemates, a cat, and a schnauser.  The
new arrangement could not have been more perfect for all concerned.  Rascal
and Dandy quickly regained their weight after Bongo left.
 
And *then*... I got a call from the humane society.  There were two ferrets
needing a home.  I'd been wanting another ferret, (I have chronic problems
with ferret math syndrome...), so the opportunity to have *two* was not to
be passed by.  <G> Zeus, a 3 yr.  old silver, and Mindy, a tiny 2.5 yr old
sable came to me ill and abused/neglected.
 
Mindy had suffered "smacking around" in the words of her owner, at the hands
of a former owner.  She had a growth on her tail, very dry skin, and *long*
nails.  Zeus had an eye infection.  Both animals had been fed low-quality
food...(Little Friskies?!  Oh dear!)..and were filthy, thin, and lethargic.
That was about 6 weeks ago.  After a vet visit or two, 6 weeks of good food
and proper excercise (they had been cooped together in a tiny cage for most
of their lives, from what I could gather from the woman who had them before
me.), and a couple of baths, both thrived and gained weight and energy
quickly.  I dare say their former owner wouldn't recognize them.  The four
got along as though they'd been together all their lives.
 
Since the weather has been balmy here in the mornings and evenings, I put
the kids out on my screened-in patio for air and excercise.  They love it.
But early on the morning of July 4th, I discovered, too late, that I hadn't
checked thouroughly enough for hazards.  At their usual 4 am, the kids awoke
and put up a terrible racket...begging to be let out to play.  Sleepily, I
stumbled out of bed, gathered 4 eager fuzzies in my arms, put them out the
sliding glass door, and stumbled back to bed, asleep before my head hit the
pillow.  Shortly before 5, I was awakened by someone scratching on the
screen.  That usually means, "Mom, come play with us!" Again I stumbled to
the door.  I saw sunlight streaming through a small hole in the half-wall
below the screen surrounding the patio.  I called my babies to me... but
only Rascal and Zeus appeared.  I blocked the hole and looked in their dryer
tubes and baskets and cat condos for Mindy and Dandy.  Both had disappeared
into thin air.  I did the crazy ferret lady stuff: Walked the neighborhood
with squeaky toy and flashlight, waking not a few of my
less-than-concerned-at-that-hour neighbors.  I made phone calls, I hung
signs, I put food and water out for my adventurous girls... and when, by 10
am I'd done all I could, I sat down to cry with my boys...and pray for the
safe return of my tiny girls (both are well under 2 lbs).  Suddenly Mindy
appeared at my feet, looking up as if to ask, "What's wrong, Mom?" I scooped
her up with mixed glee and dread...where was Dandy?
 
Dandy has not returned.  My beautiful Dandy...how I miss her...and what a
horrible ferret Mom I feel I am, to be so careless... It's been 2 weeks now.
I fear that she has met a terrible end, but I pray that someone picked her
up, knowing what a treasure they had found... Rascal still searches for her.
I let him sleep with a blanket still carrying her scent.  It seems to
comfort him.  But Zeus and Mindy don't let him mope.  The three wrestle and
tumble endlessly, and then fall into an exhausted heap, in the usual ferret
style.  All of us know the circle is broken, but we go on in Dandy's memory.
 
Now, on to a question I have about Mindy, who gains more confidence, and
*attitude* daily.  She has become extremely proficient at *chomp-and-run*.
She is particularly fond of attacking ankles, toes, and inner forearms.  And
when I say chomp, I mean *chomp*.  She stops short of drawing blood.  It
hurts!  lol... Is she saying, "Let's play!" "I love you to pieces!", "I hate
your guts!", or something else yet?  I guess it's time to get out the
vinegar spray bottle again.  :-P Any other suggestions are welcome.
 
Again it's good to be back!  Reply to the FML and/or Email me at
[log in to unmask]
 
Didi Anderson, Rascal, Zeus, and Mindy, missing Dandy...
Rascal:  Mom, I smell her, where *is* she?!
Zeus:  C'mon, Rascal!  Let's play!
Mindy:  CHOMP!  ZZZOOOOMM!!
[Posted in FML issue 2008]