Happy Holidays to all of you, my only wish is that my Odin would be deposited home, tomorrow (this morning, as you are reading this post) . It is with heavy heart, that i write he has not yet been found. There isn't a day goes by, that he is not constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I received a package (unexpectedly) in yesterdays mail, and tucked securely inside, well, ...i should say the ferrets received a package yesterday, it was however addressed to me, Tara...Radford, you brought tears to my eyes, what a loving and unconditional act, of love you have bestowed on us here. Enclosed in that flat package was a flying saucer for the ferrets! I have yet to hang it, properly, but did find a temporary spot, and when i looked inside, i saw more ferrets that i could count ! They love it, and love you too Auntie Tara ! They send their heartfelt thanks and best wishes, to you and yours! I had seen the saucer in the ferret store publication and had often wished i could afford one, but as of yesterday, i spent $169 @ Petco just on kibble alone, to feed my crew ...i was pretty low, and mix a lot of them together, so we all like an assortment...for those just in case circumstances, and completely forgot the purpose of going in the first place, treats! Dad and mom had to drive out in that crazy traffic for the almighty treats, today ! They have 10 boxes of them, so that will hold us over for a while. As for the shelter situation (Chris) with 150 ferrets, to care for? Tara, your intentions are only out of love for the ferrets, and a wish harm to no one. That has got to be a handful to care for, especially in getting them exercise, and clean bedding and litter boxes.. let alone making sure meds are administered, and food daily.! In this day of busy lives, and wanting to help others, out ...it would be a wonderful act of love and interest of Tracy's offer to help with finding homes for some of those ferrets, in Chris's care, and it would probably be a quicker transition for them, if they were placed in her (Tracy's ) care, and allowed by the local potential adopters to travel less far, in their quest to adopt? It isn't always a question of how far, to travel, but allowance of time. There are so many ferrets who truly want and need loving homes, and i am thinking of GCFA, also, as i write this. It is a matter, of ? time and location, i hesitated driving to Chicago, for we wandered around there for a few hours before we finally reached our destination, getting lost in Chicago can be quite an experience. I got to visit them last summer, and i told others, who knew that i was going, that i hesitated, for i knew, out of love for these wonderful little furry beings, that i would be in tears, and it was true. I wanted to take them all home with me, but i knew that i just didn't have the finances, time, nor enough energy to clean up behind so many, (i w/not confess my age publicly ) . My love to all those prescious furried ones. I think of them all the time, and hug Buddy and Bubba who came home with us that evening. It tears my heart out everytime, i see a local advertisement for ferrets for sale, in the paper. When i think of all the ferrets, that live their lives out in cages, day after day, waiting ever so patiently for that someone special to (just know they are the one) ...i got a few calls when Odin first went missing, and one of the responders said it was her friend that found the ferret, and i had quite a time, getting the opportunity to go and see this ferret, to verify yeah, or nay, that it was or was not Odin. Finally out of frustration, for she would not give me her phone number, and the friend never called, i left a very tearful message on their answering machine, that i did not want anyone elses ferret, i ONLY WANTED MY OWN, my ODIN ! That is where i had to go to get this woman to respond, that made them realize that i was serious about finding Odin. I @ 50 ? years old, had to break down in tears, first. The 2 responses i got, were for ferrets that were found in September ! Odin went missing in November ( Frankie, now lives with us, and Jerry R. has found a wonderful new home) , and i have had a chance to share some of my new found knowledge, learned from many on the fml, about ferrets, and their personalities and their care. Please, open your hearts, to these little beings! They are so full of LIFE! Don't view them as just an animal, as so many people do. I was told once, by a friend, that it is interesting how we can ignore a tiny pebble in a shoe we are wearing, but to have one absent from the home amongst many, we cannot forget. That is my Odin, my pizza loving boy. I just don't have any interest in pizza anymore. Odin, when we would order delivery, would be at the table, with in minutes of the pizza arriving, standing on a chair, front paws on the table looking for his bit of pizza, which he would spirit off to the bedroom, to either eat or stash for later. I have muddled through my grief , in his absence, with prayer, and tears, and tried quietly to keep a grip on this, which sometimes i feel that i am slowly losing. Please send up thoughts and prayers for my Pizza boy, tonight and always in his absence from his true home. It is a nightmare revisited. Rosemary, my condolences in your loss of Ricco ...your beds are very much tenderly scratched to fluff up, by those ferrets that you carefully fashioned them for. You are a wonderful loving spirit yourself. Wrap yourself in the blessings of the work you do everyday, to make these little lives comfortable and happy while their time on this planet is brief. I know this is getting lengthy, so i must bow out of here, and get off my soap box. My best wishes to you all, and condolences to those of you i have not mentioned in this post, who have also lost their beloved companions. Humbly donna and eppers (the found one) Christen [Posted in FML issue 4008]