Folks, I notices a request for some happy ferret stories, just before an unfortunate list of furkids crossing the Bridge (my sympathy to all of your human type folk and fuzzy friends left behind). Here is my happy ferret story to add some cheer to our list. On December 7, 1995, Governor Weld here in Massachusetts signed the bill that would legalize ferrets as of March 7, 1996. As a good legal ferret owner, I happily made plans to get my furbabyFreya back from her babysitter in NY. I realized that Freya would be lonely in her new home, so I called Holly Cyr at FARI, and let her know that I was looking for a single female ferret for my Freya to have as a buddy. Holly is a very smart ferret mom - she let me know that she was so sorry not to have any single ferrets for adoption, but gee, would I mind looking at a bonded pair! You guessed it - must have been ferret math in the air. The first weekend after ferrets were legal in Massachusetts, Holly and I were manning side by side tables for FARI and MAFF, respectively, at the Rhode Island Pet Expo. She brought out the most petite sprite I have ever met - 3/4 lb of silver feistiness named Nosy. She was 5.5 yrs old, and Holly wanted her to go to a special home due to her age. Her buddy was a 3.5 lb medium silver named Conan (my favorite fuzzy and classroom companion). That Holly was so good, I was filling out the adoption papers in between educating folks, and I took those furkids with me on the spot (as a veterinarian, I tend to carry spare carriers, etc in my car). Freya had been a bit mopy since I had brought her to Massachusetts, but she perked right up with the new kids in the house. Of course, Nosy kicked her out of her own cage for weeks!!! Within days, though, they would curl together on the futon, or chase the dogs around the house (the dogs don't mind this, by the way). Nosy may have been old, but she added alot of joy, and introduced me to the pleasure of mellow boy ferrets as well (I'd only had sprites before this). Hope this cheers someones day (just writing it feels good!) -Dr. Karen [log in to unmask] currently practicing in Cumberland, RI [Posted in FML issue 2626]