Dear Friends of Ferrets everywhere,
 
    I have such exciting news but, since it's a Christmas secret, I can't
tell anyone except.  .  .  .do you promise not to let the cat, er .  .
ferret, out of the bag?  Well then, I'll just whisper it in your ear.  WE'RE
GETTING TWO MORE FERRETS!!!!!!  (Okay, so I'm a loud whisperer.)
 
    Our two wonderful guys, Maurice and Newton, belong to our 13 year old
daughter--at least technically.  (They know and I know that they belong to
me and I to them, but we don't tell Jamie.) They are, I'm sure, the world's
most fabulous critters.  (I know you all love yours, but if you could see
these two, well, you'd be spoiled for any others.) The problem has been that
Lydia, our 11 year old, loves them so much that she wants at least one of
her own.  So I called the Central PA Ferret Rescue to see what they had and
was told that there was a 2 yr old Siamese neutered female, as well as a
pair (neutered m/f) who had grown up together and needed to find a home
together.  The Siamese was described to me as a large lap-ferret, and
sounded pretty interesting.
 
    The next step was to talk it over with my husband, who is not at all a
pet person: he was frankly appalled at the thought of adding another beastie
to our menagerie, which currently consists of a large dog, two cats, and the
"Danger Guys," our ferrets.  He did have a point; I've gone back to school
this year and am living with all the animals and two children in a miniscule
apartment.  So he vetoed the idea--which only seemed fair, really, since he
wants NO animals and I already have 5.  But then he came down from NH (where
he's still living and working) and when he asked what Lydia wanted for
Christmas, I said "a ferret." I figured he'd still be opposed, but it was
worth a try.  To my surprise he gave in .  .  .  what's one more, after all?
(In fact, he loves the little guys too, in spite of his life-long belief in
the separation of animals and humans.  He's even said that he's never known
better, funnier animals--big surprise, huh?)
 
    So.  We handed the children over to my mother and made the 2 hour drive
to State College to meet a Siamese ferret named Patches.  She was charming,
no doubt about it, but Cliff and I both preferred the pair of year old
sables who need to be placed together.  Within 24 hours, Cliff passed with
incredible speed from no-more-ferrets to a reluctant okay-just-one and on to
an astonishing lets-take-the-pair-they're-so-cute.  Will wonders never
cease!!
 
    Even better, we'd taken the Danger Guys along with us.  I've read so
many sad and scary stories on the FML lately about introducing a new ferret
into the existing "business" that I wanted to make sure Momo and Noodles
would get along with the one we were going to take home.  When we let all
four out in a ferret-proof room, I expected bloodshed---or at least noise,
violence and misery.  But no!!  The 4 of them liked each other right away.
When one found something interesting to do, the other 3 would run over to
join in the fun.  They dashed and skittered about like siblings who know
just what to expect from each other.
 
    This happened 5 days ago, and I'm still so happy I can't get over it.
The new "babies" are Charlotte, a tiny tiny sprite, and Gizmo, a largish
male.  I've told Lydia that we absolutely can't have any more pets because
it's not fair to Daddy and because our place is so small.  I can't wait to
see her face on Christmas!!!
 
   I know it's hard to resist, but don't tell -- you promised.
 
Dina -- the happy new mom.
 
P.S.  I want to put in a good word for Kim Becker who runs the Central PA
Ferret Rescue out of her basement.  She does a wonderful job--and, of
course, loses money at it (she works as a waitress to support the shelter).
The cages were all so clean and the animals so healthy and happy in the room
she has set aside just for them.  They had lots of toys and attention and a
big place to play-- I just wish there were some way to let her know how much
we admire her for the work she does.
 
(Sorry this is so long--with the combination of Christmas and ferrets I just
got carried away!)
[Posted in FML issue 1395]