Saturday two weeks ago we ventured down to Rocky's to pick up our
designated group from the DMK rescue. One of the ferrets that Barb
handed me was an albino boy. I knew he was an albino because of his
pink eyes, not because of the color of his coat. As he briefly passed
from my hands to the carrier I could feel the tension in his little
body. When we had taken a head count and made sure all the carriers
were secured with water bottles in place, we made the trek home with
a car full of scarred and weary travelers.

At home we had a better chance to look over these little ones before
putting them in their new cages. We could tell that all of them had
had enough and just needed to be left alone to settle into their new
surroundings. Before putting Albie in his cage he decided to latch
onto me; my finger to be exact,with his teeth. I knew right then and
there Albie was staying with us. (I love challenges).

The next day I went into the quarantine room to do the usual ferret
chores and noticed that Albie was sleeping in his litterbox and doing
his business in another corner of the cage. Nothing really unusual as
I have had ferrets do that for years. But I remembered the living
quarters these guys were accustomed to, and I realized that that was
Albie's comfort zone. All he had ever known was that small shoebox of a
space. When I would talk to him he stayed in the litterbox in the back
of the cage and looked at me with fear in is eyes. In all my years of
dealing with rescue ferrets I have never seen that look. It was so sad.
So to try to make him more comfortable with his new surroundings and
me, I put another littlerbox with a blanket in it, in his cage. That
became Albie's new comfort zone.

First day out in the playpen he cowered in the corner afraid of the
toys. I also realized that he was very frightened when I would go to
pick him up to move him from cage to playpen and vise versa. These
poor babies don't understand a loving human touch.

Albie's second day out to play he adopted a toy. A little bear which
sleeps with him in his comfy litterbox bed. Each day I see Albie
gaining more trust with me. He has not tried to attach himself to me
in a negative way since that first day, and now when I come into the
room I am thrilled to find him at the front of his cage waiting for
attention from me. He lets me cuddle him, and I can see the look of
fear in his eyes is going away. Today was extra special, because today
for the very first time he gave me a kiss! And yes I cried.

As with all shelter ferret's there is nothing more satisfying than
to see "ferrets be ferret's, but somehow the visual pictures of the
"before's" of these ferrets, makes these little guys somehow more
special.

Denise
Furry O's Ferrets

[Posted in FML 5765]