Hello again,
 
Feels like we've been off the list forever, but its only been a month and a
half.  Anyway, to anyone that was following my saga of where to take Orville
and Rajah - the deed is done: my babies are now officially South African
citizens.
 
My mum dotes on them :-)))) (She's almost worse than me already!)
 
We flew Air Canada to Toronto.  Were meant to fly Delta's codeshare BEX
to JFK.  This is where things fell down around our ears....
 
First mechanical difficulties, so they put us up in a very nice hotel for
the night.  This is now Thursday night.  We were meant to arrive in Durban,
South Africa on Friday night....
 
7:30 am we're checked in on BEX to JFK.....the ferrets have to travel in the
hold...7:25, the pilot refuses to fly them its too cold...so we're put onto
the 11:20 flight to JFK...we wait in the waiting room till then.  11:15...
the pilot refuses to fly them its too cold.  Won't consider putting them on
board.  Plane leaves.  I get hysterical.  I have to be in JFK by 3pm to
check the ferrets in at SAA cargo.  They shout at me and shunt me off to
American Airlines who rushes me through on the next flight to La Guardia.
 
The plane sits.  Nothing happens.  A flight attendant comes and tells us
that we have to get off as the airline will not fly the ferrets and that BEX
should have known that.
 
Delta manages to put us on an Air Canada flight later - missing my 3pm
deadline, not to mention the flight.....
 
BEX refuses to put us up in NY saying that they could have got me to my
connection on time.  They couldn't be bothered about the connection for the
ferrets.
 
We spend 22 hours in JFK, waiting.
 
The rest of the trip to Johannesburg and on to Durban is a dream.  Everyone
is kind and considerate and thinks the ferrets are wonderful.  The hold is
temperature and pressure controlled so the ferrets were at the same temp and
pressure as the passengers.  They were getting used to being stuck in their
carrier by now - they'd been in there for FOUR days by the time we arrived
in Durban on Sunday at 10pm!!!  (It was meant to be a TWO day journey)
 
My babies went through a terrible time (not to mention me), because of BEX.
May I be so bold as to hope NO ONE else travels with them after hearing my
story?
 
We went round to meet my family's vet (originally from England and knows
ferrets from way back when..).  He's been reading up on them in preparation
for their arrival and seemed pleased to finally meet them.  He read all the
info I had - Ferret FAQ and some other brochures.  He has a friend with an
internet connection and will see what other info he can find that way.
 
Seems to me the monsters prefer Africa to Canada...they are eating tons and
playing loads.  And they're well loved.  I spent about a month - yes that's
why I've been away from the FML there, settling them in and getting them
used to my family and vice versa.
 
But I think I've made the right decision.  It was either that or put them in
quarantine here in Norway for FOUR months.  My husband and I felt that was
far too long for them to be caged.  The quarantine station also discourages
visiting :(
 
Anyway, now my mum knows why all I could ever really say about them was that
they are just toooooo cuuuuute.  And Rajah made me very jealous of my mum.
Rajah isn't a very cuddly ferrets although she likes to sleep with you at
night.  Rajah sat in my mum's lap and yawned and yawned and went to
sleep...she's never done that to me before.  Orville does.
 
They took over the desk drawers within a couple of hours and made that their
hidey hole.  They have also laid claim to the bed, especially if someone is
sleeping there.  I have a cat tent that they used to pretty much ignore.  My
mum put it under the sheet on the spare mattress which is on the floor
because the ferrets discovered what a wonderful toy a mattress and a fitted
sheet were and...who can resist.  Anyway, my mum says she's found them
curled up asleep in one of their blankets in the tent under the sheet a
couple of times already.  Have I got a wonderful mum or what????
 
To everyone from the FML who has offered us advice, help or support through
all of this, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
 
Hug your fuzzies tonight for me.  I miss mine so much.
 
Tanya Bartlett
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1752]