MILO'S STORY

Milo Mouse came into my life almost four weeks ago. He was the smallest of three ferrets at a local exotic pet store. The owner handed him to me and my heart melted. He was clearly underweight, dirty and had a prolapsed rectum. The cage he shared with the other ferrets was all wire, with no sign of any soft litter for them to walk on.

Milo snuggled close to me and gnawed at my fingers. I fell in love and brought him home. And even though I "bought" him, I knew I was rescuing him from what I felt was a terrible living condition. I am sure he would have gotten very ill or died if left in that cage.

When I brought Milo home, I fixed him up a little cage all his own, with soft blankets and food and water. He attacked the food as if he hadn't eaten in days. He snarfed it all up. I made more. He ate half of that and fell asleep. The next morning, the food bowl was empty again. He ate ravenously like that for several days before slowing down to a normal pace.

I took him to the vet and had him checked over. The vet agreed that Milo was underweight. He also told me the prolapsed rectum was due to coccidia and gave me some medication for Milo. (The man at the pet store told me a prolapse rectum was "normal" for kits. How stupid is that?)

Well, it hasn't taken very long for little Milo Mouse to gain weight and get a cute little ferret tummy. He's growing like a weed and romps and plays with my five other guys just fine. I believe he is deaf, but that is not an issue for such a strong and tuff little kit. He steals toys, runs through tunnels, digs the rice box and attacks my feet with the best of 'em.

Milo is just now figuring out that it is OK to sleep on soft blankets. He tends to sleep on the hardest, coldest surface he can find. I attribute that to the fact he had no soft place to sleep. I'm not certain, but it may be that he was not welcome by the other ferrets in the pet store cage. It makes me so sad to think that perhaps they weren't allowing him to eat or cuddle up with them at naptime.

Milo has brought so much happiness and joy to our home and I am so grateful to have found him! What a beautiful little gift !

PLEASE SAY NO TO INDIVIDUALS "REHOMING" (SELLING) THEIR PETS ON WEBSITES LIKE CRAIG'S LIST. ADOPT FROM YOUR LOCAL SHELTER OR RESCUE!

THANK YOU!