Lisette wrote: >The moral of this story? >Ladies: IT IS NOT SIZE THAT MATTERS True. Hjalmar Ferret wouldn't leave my side for 6 weeks when I had major surgery about 9 year ago or so. Still, the reality is that husbands don't have to be like the ones Lisette described. Steve is always here for me -- thick or thin. Not all husbands (or wives) are Good Time Charlies. It is a person's responsibility to the spouse to not be one, and responsibility to oneself to not marry one. Great to read more about dedicated ferrets, and I hope you are feeling better! Oh, you remember that tube that helps Meeteetse in getting back her rear leg muscles? Well, we noticed that suddenly Warp was low on fur in two stripes. Now, it COULD still be adrenal, but the stripes are RIGHT where the tubes rubs her sides! Hmmmm... The ferrets are curious about the hummus bi tahini, stuffed grape leaves with lemon, and baklava smell on me. Yep, I have been spoiled for my big annual day. (Next year is the hard one -- 50 -- so have to figure out some sorts of foods with even more interesting smells to leave on my breath to amaze the ferrets. Suggestions? Banana Coconut Cream Pie might be win in 2000. What do you think?) Arrgghhhhhh -- they have decided that one of the bookcases is a perfect toilet! We do BOTH one on one time and group time -- sometimes in large groups and sometimes small. They seem to really enjoy each of these variants but in different ways. We find that one on one time is probably the best for noticing things like early stages of illness when treatment is much easier; also better for cuddling with some of them since some won't do much of that in a group setting. Plunked down over $200 yesterday, but Seven has working teeth again, and only had to lose one though a lot had a good deal of care. We've never had one with such horrid general dental health, though we've had some with specific problems. His teeth were goldenrod color with plaque. Now we need to give him a little time. He is annoyed at his antibiotics so Steve is "in the doghouse" for a few hours twice daily; I can't give them because I'm very allergic to even splashes from this type. He's had his general check-up and his ear mite and fecal checks, so now it's just vaccinations for this little surprise family member. Meeteetse met Seven today and they REALLY LIKED each other. Now we'll start the other intros. Would have waited longer but he had no evidence of illness for the more than a month that he was in the shelter and all but one of our rest have already been ECE exposed. [Posted in FML issue 2899]