Hello, I have had 5 Marshall Farms ferrets and currently have 2 living. This time around I have decided to try local breeder - I live in Western MD and my Dr is Dr Weiss in Bethesda and he has treated 4 out of 5. How can I tell when you have animals available? I signed up for your group site. My ferrets are relatively young - 2 and almost 4, so I am not in a rush to get a new one. My ferrets travel with me when the weather is good and live in my room, mostly in my sock drawer. My first ferret Shelby, about 7 years ago, lived with me when I was truck camping and became my best friend on the Earth. I lost her just before her 4th birthday to a surgical procedure. After that, I found Dr Weiss and drive 3 hours for visits for medical problems when they arise, because he seems to be one of the best. My next ferret was Sandy and she died a year ago after getting diabetes - she had had 2 surgeries for insolinoma, no adrenals, no spleen, and still lived to nearly 5 years old. She was great and loved sliding down her tunnel. She went into a coma in my arms and the vet couldn't balance her chemistry in time. I lost my next ferret Cherry to a terrible accident last year at 4 years old when she ran and jumped off the bed (which is only 1 mattress high) after treats, doing a war dance, and she was fatally injured when she ran into my foot. It was terrible and it was very strange that such a seasoned ferret would do a back flip after all those years. Right now my ferrets are all off medicine, and that is nice for a change. Aileah, my oldest at about 3.5, had a real nasty bout of miscellaneous surgeries and medical treatments last year, and it is great that she was cured (nearly $10,000 of treatment)! My youngest is Lizzy at about 2, and she is very cute and gives kisses. Daily, they both get turkey baby food as a treat... I looked at some of the parent ferrets on your site and thought they were just wonderful. Welling emotion came up - I am not in a rush to adopt a new ferret, but wanted to begin communications with you. I hope you would consider me as a potential new owner / adopter... My ferrets are an integral part of my family, and I give them lots of attention as I work at home at the computer. Thanks, Mark Hei. [Posted in FML issue 4773]