Many have reminisced on the Ferret Mailing List this last week regarding the five-year anniversary of the large coordinated Ohio DMK rescue. We wish there was one website set up with the statistics of the massive rescue activity and links to the related YouTube videos. Ferrets at Heart was not in existence in 2007, when the exhaustive effort was put forth by many shelters and individuals to place an extraordinary number of physically and psychologically damaged ferrets, but we have provided a home for a former DMK breeder jill since the fall of 2009. Holly is only one of many, but we think she is very special. Holly was one of the few DMK ferrets for which some sort of birth record was available. Her birth litter fell in September of 2004. That puts Holly at 7.5-years-old today. She was one of the breeding jills kept in the outdoor cages, which we all agree were too small and too ill maintained. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eADmummyIkY After being over-bred and kept in wire mesh cages in all weather -- with the benefit of the piles of excrement growing under the cages drawing all sorts of flying insects -- Holly was then part of the rescue round-up in 2007 at the DMK breeding facility. Because she was ill and had a particular taste for human flesh, Holly was one of the last to leave, and then, handed over hesitantly. For some time Holly's new situation was an absolute improvement over her previous outdoor cage in southern Ohio. Her new owner helped work on her fixation on human blood, and this skittish and unsociable ferret took on the responsibility for a blind ferret named Charlie. But, along came a new relationship in the owner's life. The ferrets began to be harmed frequently by this new individual. Finally, Ferrets at Heart gained Holly and Charlie in the fall of 2009. This DMK gal was a learning curve for us. Though Holly had been altered, she retained her scent glands -- our first ferret with the ability to stink up a room similar to that of a skunk. Weighing in at nine ounces, this lightweight spitfire took off the end of my toe the first day we met -- nearly a quarter-sized section of skin. Life only got more interesting from there. And you probably guessed she'd be an escape artist. Holly is an old lady now. Truly, 7.5 years is a credible age for a ferret, and Holly has adrenal and insulinoma. She looks and acts nearly half her age. Holly is still choosey about ferrets she lets into her life, but she is managing with Templeton, and he helped her make it through the loss of old blind Charlie back in January. Her weight is now at one pound, mainly due to the prednisolone she takes for the insulinoma. She has a deslorelin implant combating the adrenal tumor. Between naps in her Marshall Hide-N-Sleep Alligator, Holly can be found stashing crocheted eggs, murdering the little motorized Zhu Zhu pet hamster-shaped toy, or lounging on my shoulders and head. She might even play chase or tug-of-war, if she's in a good mood. Does she still take a chunk out of her humans after so many years? Oh, well there was that one time... And, I remember when... Can we just agree that Holly is never-ever to get out at the same time as Rhys, ok? He thinks her scent glands produce the best perfume on the planet, and she is absolutely terrified of such a huge alpha male. Don't try to take a squeaky toy away from her either; this includes those tiny chirping mice made to entertain cats. Other than that, she's perfectly safe. You can help support Holly by purchasing tickets for our raffle or an item from our store. Just visit http://ferretsatheart.com/ Holly still hears from the woman who adopted her from the DMK rescue effort. She keeps in touch long-distance and is a charished friend. Though her current beau is into cats and is absolutely not a ferret person, he's a great guy, and we'll keep him. With respect, Lori of Ferrets at Heart http://ferretsatheart.com/ [Posted in FML 7392]