I was so impressed and jealous of the wonderful family of ferrets that Dr. Williams and Daisy Lyn and all the other multi-ferret households that I read about on this list, that I just had to adopt a "few" more. That is not to say that only one or two ferrets are not a pleasure. However when I visited the ferret shelter I found I could not resist. I wanted to take home all 20 or so of them, but I settled for four of the less fortunate of the group. The ferret shelter operator, Bobbi called them "fossils" because the were the "old folks" of the bunch. They would probably never be adopted because they are not cosmetically desirable and are slow to play. They sleep alot and some have health problems. I fell in love with all four of them. Here is the "bio" on each of them. They may be older but they are very special. Sable is a spayed female of about 5 1/2 yrs of age. She is sable colored and has cataracts on both eyes, yet she is fiesty and gets around remarkably well despite her lame hind leg. I took her to the vet for a look at her leg and the vet seems to think that at one time she had broken her pelvis and this did not heal properly. She grunts and groans during a bowel movement and I had her feces tested and she had no abnormalities so the vet seems to think that her distress is due to the pelvis problem. She is so lovable and adores being held and loves to give kisses on the face. Very little is known of her previous history. She came to the shelter about 2-3 months ago with another female ferret named Faucett, so the shelter did not want to separate them. Faucett (alias Ferret Faucett named after Farrah Fawcett (sp?) the actress) is a spayed sable female about 3 1/2 years old. She has beautiful, silkly fur and is the healthiest of the four. She loves to be held and cuddled and is very mischievous. She has already emptied my flower pots of their dirt twice. I hope I have successfully outsmarted her this time in devising a determent to her clever pot plundering. Fred is a sable nuetered male about 5 1/2 years old. No history was provided concerning him. The previous owner obviously did not care for him. Bobbi said he came in a filthy cage and was in poor health. Bobbi had a benign tumor removed from his face under his eye. He also had sparse fur on his back and rear leg area. I took him to the vet for a physical and he suspects skin allergies. Since I have had Fred he has received a soothing bath with a rinse of dry skin treatment and he has begun to grow some fur in the patchy sections. He is not as tolerant of being held but he has his moments when he likes to be nuzzled. With time, love and attention I think he will be more trusting of humans. Boo is the fourth fossil ferret and he looks like a fossil! He is a albino neutered male of unknown age. The vet thinks he is quite old since he has lost some of his teeth and has a bad case of tarter build-up causing bleeding gums. When I gave Boo a bath I was shocked to discover how thin he is. The vet ran blood tests and discovered renal disease. His kidneys are not functioning to full capacity. So Boo is on a diet of Science Diet K/D and fortunately he loves it. He has a monstrous appetite but he shows little results due to his health problem. He has very little energy and does not tolerate being held for very long. I will continue to gently nurse him along and hope for good results. Well I love each and every one of them. The fossils are kept separate from my other rambunctious angels, Teebone and Weezul for health and energy expenditure reasons. It is amazing what wonderful personalities each ferret can possess. If I had a larger house and more time I would welcome a multitude. It would be labeled ferret mania, but for now I am labeled a ferret maniac by my roommate. There is always enough love to go around with a ferret, because a ferret gives so much in return. To provide a secure, loving and healthy home for these precious animals is such a small task on my part because I receive so much pleasure from them in return. I think all loving ferret owners feel this way. How lucky we are to be in the presence of a ferret! I have said enough but thanks for the oppurtunity to introduce you to my family. Judy and the kids Teebone and Weezul and the fiesty fossils Boo, Fred, Sable and Faucett. [Posted in FML issue 0690]