My Molly B., who I adopted January 2001, has been showing early signs of adrenal disease. She has been to the vet for a check up, an xray (which showed an enlarged heart) and is scheduled for an ultrasound on the 4/23 to determine the status of the heart and adrenal tumors. This is the first ferret in my family of 6 who has become ill with one of the dreaded ferret diseases, so we are going through a learning experience here. Some days she just doesn't feel up to getting up and playing with her 5 cagemates, so she lays in her sleep sack and watches. She is eating well, drinking well and pooping well, but just doesn't seem to have the energy that she should have. Well, the other day I took Duchess, first and alpha ferret, and held her close to me and asked her to keep an eye on Molly. I told her that Molly isn't feeling well these days and she needs a best ferret friend to snuggle with and to keep her company. So, I asked her to spend more time with Molly and let her know that she is very much loved and that we are doing all we can to give her the right treatment for her illness. Now, you would think that this is silly and, of course, we all know that animals don't know what we are saying to them. They just know by the tone of our voice when we are happy, angry or sad. Well, now I wonder..... because last night, when I was putting the ferrets in their cage for the night, I couldn't find Duchess. I just figured that she had gone to one of her secret spots to sleep and that she would be fine until the morning. This morning, I opened the cage and out came 4 bounding ferrets ready to trash the house. Molly was in her sleep sack and she had that look that says "I think I'll just rest a little longer, thank you." Now I go to the spots that Duchess might have gone to during the night and she is no where to be found. I start to panic and think that I should have checked on her last night and maybe she is caught somewhere or is injured or...... So, I run to the toy box and get the squeaky toy that I use to call the ferrets and go back to the bedroom first and give it two squeaks. I look all around to see her come running and as I turn towards the cage, her little face pokes out from the sleep sack where she has spent the night with Molly. She is looking at me like "What's wrong, Mom? I'm here with Molly, just like you asked me." Is there no end to the wonders of these unique little creatures? What special gift has God given them that they can understand everything we say to them? Are their hearts so pure that they can understand our needs? I might not know the answers to these questions until I reach Heaven at which time they will be revealed to me, but in the meantime, I give thanks for the opportunity of knowing and loving these wonderful little animals. Phyllis Mom to Duchess, Tobey, Tyler, Jenny, Molly B and Joshua (still the Demon Child) [Posted in FML issue 3759]