Hi everyone. I have had a ferret, Toons, since September. She was 6 weeks old when I bought her. She was descented and spayed. She was a big girl with a mostly white face and brown eyes. Her fur was all white underneath with dark tips. She was quite a handful for the first three months. She used to bite very hard (but never broke the skin). But then she began calming down and showing a lot of love for me. Now she is always careful to bite gently when we play. She came running every time I got home from work (if she was awake). Every time she heard me pick up my keys to go somewhere she would run to the door. I never kept her in a cage. I "ferret-proofed" my house and had a couple litter boxes which she used approximately 50% of the time. Ever since I got her I played with her at least twice a day and always laughed out loud at her funny, hopping, "ferret dance". She has a little teepee (for cats) that she sleeps in religiously. In the past month I have began taking her out a lot to the park. She really seems to like the trips. Most people that have met her have commented that she was more calm and friendly than most ferrets they have known. Over the past few months I have really come to love her almost like a child. Silly as it sounds, I'll even admit I even tell her I love her. Today I took her to the park and she played with a friend's dalmation for about a half hour. I have a largish cage I put her in for travel in the car as I don't think it would be too cool for her to run under my clutch or brake pedals. After the park a friend and I went to a restaurant to eat. We left the windows in the car rolled down and we were in the shade. Toons had her little water dish in the cage with wood chips. When we finished eating and got back to the car I was a bit worried. Looking in the cage I saw that Toons' eyes were open. Then I noticed she was not moving. I reached into the cage and grabbed her. She was no longer the soft and flexible little girl I was used to. I did not cry until later when my friends had all left my apartment. [Posted in FML issue 1138]