Hi All, I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Allison and I am becoming more and more interested in ferrets. About a year ago I inherited a wonderful ferret named Hobbes. She became a valued part of my small family (consisting of myself, my golden retriever Frankie, and Hobbes). Unfortunately, two days ago when I was getting ready to leave for work and I went over to Hobbes' cage to give her her morning chicken treat, I found her not breathing. I am not sure what happened to her. Just the night before she had been running around the apartment during her play time like normal and seemed perfectly happy and healthy. I don't have pesticides or anything around the apartment that she could have gotten into so I am truely baffled by this untimely departure. I am still very upset from the loss, but my golden retriever is doing even worse. He just lays at the foot of her cage crying and trying to get her to come out and play with him. It has been a difficult couple of days. Although I will never forget Hobbes and I know she could never be replaced, I would like to find one or two new ferrets to bring into our family and start to ease the pain. Since I inherited Hobbes, I am not sure where I should look to find a new ferret. I have been told that ferrets found in pet stores are not always the healthiest of animals (the same is true of dogs) so I would like to go through a breeder or adopt from a rescue organization. I have found one breeder in the Pittsburgh area but he only has a litter of BEW and I'm not sure if I would like this color or not (Hobbes I think would be considered more silver, maybe), but I am going to see the litter this weekend and maybe I will like the color. I checked out the ferret database and got some names and numbers of local shelters, but I am finding that many of the numbers are disconnected and information does not have a listing for these places. I live in the Pittsburgh area and if anyone could give me the names and numbers of breeders and or adoption places I would be most appreciative. Private e-mail is fine, [log in to unmask] I am willing to travel, so any sources in the PA area are fine. Thank you so much for any help you can offer! Allison [log in to unmask] /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ / Allison K. Busdieker \ / Waste Management, Inc. \ / E-Mail: [log in to unmask] \ / "Love Me, Love My Dog" \ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ [Posted in FML issue 1581]