My first ferret, Rikki was my little guy who absolutely detested getting a bath. He only like water on his own terms - namely the dogs water bowl. The bowls were heavy and about 85% ferret proof for tipping over. Rikki would stand with his front paws on the bowl, & would scoop water all over the place with one paw, then alternate with the other paw. His whole front would become totally soaking wet. But I think the funniest part was he would take 3 or 4 dog kibbles and put them in the bowl then proceed to eat them one at a time. Of course they were not always easily caught, which would cause even more splashing & dunking. If he got full, he would leave the remaining bloated kibbles floating in the water. This did not impress the dogs who refused to drink with soggy objects floating around. Unfortunately Rikki isn't with us anylonger. He broke my heart a couple of years ago with a very unfortunate & stupid accident. After coming home from a 2 week vacation I found a note on the table from the person that was supposed to be checking on the ferrets everyday (the dogs were staying at the in-laws who don't like ferrets) that she couldn't find Rikki. My guess is that our other ferret the little mischievious Whidbey had pried open one of the heating registers on the floor & they both did some exploring. She found Whidbey curled up asleep in one of the air-duct pipes in the basement ceiling but was unable to find my baby. About 10 days later when I got home there still was be no sign of him. Completely devastated I had a plumber-gas fitter come over & take apart all of the heating pipes. About 3 hours later, we found him laying inside the furnance and on a sreen. He must have falled down about a 4 foot drop & badly hurt himself & was unable to get out. Death to him was agonizing and slow. Rikki had not been in the best of health the last couple of years of his life, but he did not deserve to go this way. Please, I beg all of you to check & make sure that the air vents are screwed down or impossible for little fuzzies to open. Edith & Denis & Co. [Posted in FML issue 1487]