Hi Everybody.. I guess I should say shelter 2 and bad pet store ZIP!! but one was gotten out a while back and the other one was todays triumph.. What's the scoop [sorry, bad pun there]? There is a pet store in a nearby large city that had two full grown ferrets in one aquarium each.. the aquariums were what is known as 'talls' as they had more viewing surface than floor space. The little fellow today is right at 3 lbs. so this means he could not even turn around! He had 2 inches of pine shavings in the aquarium with him..PERIOD! no food, no water, no litter box, no blankie, no toys.. nothing at all. I got the other one out of there a couple weeks ago by finding something the owner wanted very badly then holding out till he greed to trade the fuzzy for the coveted item.. it made him a bundle so he pounced on me as soon as I entered the store today and begged for another of the items.. I held out till he was about to cry then reluctantly agreed to take the remaining adult ferret in trade.. just call us flash the no cash fuzzy snatcher.. :) Now.. bear in mind.. the law here reads that the pet shop people must OFFER food and water once per day.. operative word 'offer' here.. if the fuzzy is sleeping they can hold the dish over the coop and if the fuzzy does not wake up instantly to snatch the food [same with water] then it's 'Ho hum.. guess he's not hungry.' and off to the next critter.. this shop has 8 small hermit crabs in a bigger enclosure! I tried the 'I'll fix up a cage for the fuzzy with food and water and toys and so on FOR you.. the owner jumped on the offer..but of course it would be my cage and accessories and food etc. to be donated to the shop.. figures right? Other fuzzy people extracted a promise to get proper caging.. of course when was not promised.. so you can guess when it will get done.. how about the leap year after next..that's my guess. Whenever I stopped by this shop I always snatched the fuzzys out of the tanks and held and played with them while I 'looked' at everything there was, some stuff two or three times.. :) then maybe bought a 5 cent item..maybe.. Yup, I'm a rat, I took up tons of their time and spent the least I could manage.. The kits were housed one to a tank with the same conditions.. but I got a serious promise from him and his spouse that there would be NO MORE adult fuzzys in the store ever again.. and two of the employees promised to call me the second he breaks that agreement. This is one promise he will keep.. I got more of what he can't seem to live without <evil grin here>... This is the kissiest fuzzy I ever saw.. He is a MF and is about a year old.. in rotten physical condition but that is fixable.. He is very fat from no exercise and crummy food but that also is fixable.. Of course he has a thin coat so he immediately crawled into my knit chenille hat and refused to even negotiate for it's return. Happy fuzzy and frozen shelter Mom. An open jeepling at 55 mph is a whole lesson in chilly I promise you.. But who cares.. the fuzzy is warm and happy .. and that's what matters! So celebrate Everybody.. have a raisin on us.. Today is my Birthday and all the way home I sang 'Happy Birthday to me..Happy Birthday to me.. Happy Birthday Dear Fuzzy.. Happy Birthday to me!' I think my Higher Power sent me the very best Birthday Gift anyone could ever wish for.. Don't you agree? Have a Very Ferrety Christmas.. [an overjoyed] dayna and the [busy welcoming the new kid] woozles of the MMOMM rescue/shelter The battered kid seems to reply best to Felipe Noel [actually it's all he replies to], the Felipe is a combination of Feliz [as in Feliz Navidad] and Pepe.. and Noel because he is the announcement of something very grand.. the new kid who had no name at all is already partial to Kris Kringle.. We have a Bullwinkle and Natasha now to find a 'Rocky' to finish off that trio. :) Why Bullwinkle.. believe me that is a Moose of a ferret.. <ggg> [Posted in FML issue 2158]