Dear Raisin, Paddy, & Dipstick (and all you others):
 
My name is Gizmo.  I am a 5+ year old male MF ferret.  I have insulinoma.
I also came from a pet store.
 
I was ignored & neglected by my first owners because I "wasn't ferrety
enough." I was not diagnosed with my disease and left to suffer, sluggish
and dizzy and skinny.  When my first owner's finally decided they had
enough of me, they turned me into a pet store.
 
Then a miracle happened.  A sweet woman and man came into the store with
another ferret they already had.  They were looking for a friend for him.
I was sad and figured they wouldn't want me.  I was an ugly, skinny,
urine-stained old man stuck in a cage full of young, beautiful, playful
kits.
 
But the woman's ferret jumped all over the kits and chewed on them and
dragged them around.  When he got to me, I was scared.  But he sniffed me
and began to lick my ears.
 
I heard the woman ask the pet store man about the "big, skinny white one"
which was me.  He told her my story.  When the woman turned back to me,
there were tears in her eyes.
 
"I want that one," I heard her say and she picked me up and held me against
her chest.  She smelled so wonderful and was so soft.  I looked up into her
eyes and instantly knew that she would care for me and protect me, so I
licked her chin.  She cried out in joy.
 
I went home that day with the lovely woman and her friend and their ferret.
They gave me a warm bath to get rid of the urine stains and fed me lots of
treats and hugged me and loved me so much!  After a couple of months they
realized that something was really wrong with me and took me to the vet,
where I was diagnosed with insulinoma.  I began taking medicine and getting
better and stronger.
 
In time I got another brother and sister, both also from a pet store, who
bug the heck out of me, but I love them.  Then a sister that was rescued,
but I don't like her so much.  She's a fraidy-cat.  But the first ferret
that helped pick me out that day over 3 years ago is my bestest friend.
 
People say very bad things about MF ferrets and pet store ferrets.  They
say that I am ugly compared to the others.  But every now and then, my
mommy whispers in my ears how much she LOVES me & that I am her FAVORITE.
We cuddle close and she tells me how glad she is that she took a chance on
a "not-so-perfect" ferret.
 
So, Raisin, Paddy, & Dipstick...don't listen to what anyone else says about
you or where you came from.  Listen to the hearts, words and actions of
your hoomans, for those are the only ones that count.
 
Love, Gizmo
[Posted in FML issue 2539]