Thank you Linda and Georgia for the explanations. I appreciate your input.
Our Oct 1997 auction rescue lady, Hellion (I didn't name her, her first
rescuer did), passed away Saturday morning. The evening before she showed
hind-end weakness but was alert. I had a feeling this was it. She'd not
shown any symptoms of illness previously. Hellion was rescued from an
exotic animal auction and when two caretakers couldn't tame her she came
to me (Aug 1998, 4 1/2 yrs old). She adapted quickly to our home and she
tolerated my hugs and kisses, although she constantly struggled for me to
put her down. She trusted me completely, and I trusted her. Hellion never
played, nor did she pick any other ferrets as companions. She was also
completely blind but made her way around the house without difficulty. She
never did venture out in the back enclosure. Friday night I kept Hellion
on my chest till she wanted down. Sat morning I again held her on my
chest, until she died. I know she was welcomed with open paws by all that
have gone before her.
Are you tired of my Scooby updates yet? ;-) Well now Scooby bounds up and
down the stairs (and these are big steps) and he runs circles around the
others, literally. Meethos picks on him but Scooby is so fast, before
Meethos gets to him Scooby has turned and jumped over Meethos to run in
the other direction. And there is always a tube for safety to run into
if Meethos gets too close, not to mention that Scooby can vocalize and I
come running. Scooby still enjoys chewing on my hands (yes, I've started
training him to be gentle) in the evenings, but he really is a terror on
sockinged feet (much to my surprise at 3am.....). His coordination still
needs some work and he spends more time picking himself up after doing his
wild version of the ferret dance of joy but he is coming along and oh so
smart. He loves people food so whenever I eat he has his head in my plate.
I let him take whatever he wants within reason and as long as he doesn't
'step' in my food. He's really not spoiled, just well loved. :-)
I had a bit of free time Sunday and I chose to sit and watch the ferrets
play. It hit me that I miss so much when I'm so busy. Guess I need to
remind myself to take the time to 'stop and watch the ferrets'.
We have one rule for the ferrets - "do no harm to others". I've found
lately that I get a better response if I mouth scruff them on the throat
instead of the back of the neck. Of course this also makes it easier for
them to bite back if they want to, but so far no one has tried. When
someone picks on another I mouth scruff them as I carry them (supporting
their body with my hands so they aren't dangling) to the 2 1/2 level
punishment cage. Their cage time depends on the severity of the crime.
Sometimes I think certain ones do harm just so they can be put in the cage!
Little stinkers.
Humans, on the other hand, have lots of rules like - love the ferrets,
cater to the ferrets, clean up after the ferrets, let the ferrets do what
they want, cuddle ferrets, give the ferrets what they want (within reason),
etc....
Hugs to all. tle
Troy Lynn Eckart
Ferret Family Services
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~sprite/ffs.html
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Haven/5481/
Please sign up to support our charity
http://www.iGive.com/html/ssi.cfm?cid=46&mid=58395
[Posted in FML issue 3010]
|
