About Dave Bear

His favorite places to sleep are the sock nest under K.'s desk, the big plastic container in our bedroom or the toy box we converted into a Hidey Hole. Sometimes he'll surprise me, though, and I'll find him in a ferret pile in the hammock under the bed or sleeping in one of the crinkle tunnels.

Even though he's blind, he gets around just fine. A few bumps into the walls at times. Or a bump into the Thing that mommie put in his path that wasn't there before. But he just good-naturedly finds his way around it.

He hits the potty pad more often than his comrades, none of which are blind.

He knows exactly when it is time for his Duck Soup and comes straight to the kitchen and waits for me. My favorite time of day is sitting with Dave in my lap as he gobbles up his soup and then washes his feet.

He loves boxes. K.'s trash can. And WalMart bags. And "crunchies". And N-Bones. He lets the other guys steal his treats and he just comes back for more. He "hides" his treasures in the middle of the living room floor. We just pretend we don't see them.

He lets me give him his medicine, even though it's yukky. He knows I'm taking care of him. Plus he always gets Ferretone after his medicine.

He's gained a lot of weight and waddles. He's losing his beautiful coat. And he is just so beautiful to me. He shows me unconditional love, because I, too, have have gained a lot of weight and waddle. But Dave doesn't care. I'm Mommie and he loves me.

BAILEY MUST'VE STOLEN MY CALENDAR

Holy Cow, where does the time go?? My last post was in January?? Really??? :::hanging head:::: Aarrrrgghh. Let's update, shall we?

Well. Bailey, my champagne baby who got scalped by Milo, is now a part of the Wildkatz and he and Milo are BFF's. (Go figure) Bailey is the wildest of them all and he loves to find trouble. He loves to sneak in Keith's office, climb up on his desk and knock everything (including the wireless keyboard) off. He also enjoys erasing the greeting message on the business phone and stealing the computer mouse and Keith's glasses. He will attempt to steal the TV remote and it's a game of tug-of-war trying to get it back. He loves, loves to run and quite often we will just see him hauling ass through the house. It's hysterical. He's such a little clown!

Angel, my little girl who had adrenal surgery last November, never regrew her hair (except on her tail). Dr. Dori felt a lump upon examination and suggested a second surgery, which we did. That was just this past June. Turns out Angel was growing a tumor on her right adrenal and bone was forming around it! Weird. Now the little stinker is growing her hair back and she is going to be a beautiful DEW!

Oh, and we went to Shreveport in April for the First Annual Ferret Fun Rodeo. We had a blast! Smokey won 1st Place for Longest Kisser; Bailey won 1st Place in the tube races and 2nd in the bag races; Angel won 1st Place for Smallest Female Ferret; Angel and Smokey took 3rd Place for Opposites: Big and Small.

That pretty much brings us up to date -- at least with the Big Stuff.

But, there is one more Big Thing, and this just happened today. Dave, my blind guy and oldest by estimation, has insulinoma and I've been giving him prednisone for about a year. Lately he's had some hair loss on his back and head, a sign of possible adrenal disease. We felt that he was healthy enough to withstand exploratory surgery to remove the tumors, so it was scheduled for today. Just as they were about to put him under anaesthesia, Dr. Dori noticed Dave kind of choking and she realized he wasn't breathing good. So she did an x-ray and ultrasound and discovered a large mass that is either in his heart or his lungs, which is constricting his breathing.

Needless to say, the surgery was cancelled and she started Dave on Benazapril for his heart and Lasix to help get rid of the excess fluid.

Bottom line: my little Dave doesn't have much longer. And my heart is breaking.

MISTY'S FIRST NIGHT AS A FRISKIE

Misty wan't sure what to think about the new cage in a new room. She hates being caged anyway - so spoiled. She'll dig her food and tear up her litter trying to get my attention. Admittedly, sometimes it works and I'll let her back out for a few minutes after everyone else is put down. A few extra minutes with mom all to herself and a lick of ferratone usually calms her enough that she will then sleep.

Her and Ziggy are still working it out, but it's nothing like the issue I had with Snow and Ziggy, so it will be fine. I happen to love how she gets right up to Ziggy's face and chatters at him and how he just kind of backs off and saunters away. Too funny!

We have a play date scheduled for this coming Saturday with some ferret friends, so I'm looking forward to that. Will probably take Rocky, Milo and George -- they are my easy-going guys.

That's all the news today. More to come!

STOLEN: ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART

Misty, one of my fosters, has made herself right at home and is hanging out with the Friskies. Notably, Ziggy (the business' Chief Bodyguard) is beginning to accept her in without too much puff tail and hiss. Besides, I think Zigs has met his match with Misty. She gets right back in his face, no problem.

Yesterday evening there was quite a chase-and-pounce scene, with Misty running with a Walmart sack and Rocky and Milo chasing after her. Made me laugh out loud. Later, I found Misty curled up in the Sock Nest with George.

It's almost as if she knows we lost Snow and is stepping in to comfort us. What a beauty. Sometimes a sideways glance will fool me and I will call her "Snow"...

She still has her moments where she will bite, but it isn't as hard and I honestly think it's out of orneriness and play.

A couple of evenings ago I learned why you don't put your hand in during a squabble between two ferts. I got the bageezus bit out of my hand. No one meant to do it - it was my bad for being so careless. I got lots of kisses afterwards and learned a lesson.

ADOPTION DAY!

It looks like we may be adopting out one of my foster fuzzies today. Of course, I have mixed emotions, right? Sad, because I love them so much and happy to see them get that forever home they deserve. It's a challenge being a foster mom to these babies.

It's a hard thing to let them go...but it's the right thing. I do get attached. And it is so cool how each individual ferret has it's own unique personality. I quickly learn what they like, what they don't like. Each of them has a unique noise they make, so I know who's talking even if I'm not in the same room.

Anyway, we will see who is chosen today. And perhaps there is another little ferret Dana would like me to foster. There's the silver lining!

SNOW WONDER

Snow went back to the vet yesterday to be rechecked - he's been on his medicines for about a week now. It was great news! He went down from a Stage 5 (Stage 6 is the worst) heart murmur to a Stage 2-3. So the meds seem to be working and he is being a bit more bouncy these past few days. A huge relief!

I also had Dave E. Bear and Snow's glucoses checked. They both read 71, which is in a gray area. Dr. Dori said we will watch it and to recheck in 6 weeks. Dave shows no symptoms of insulinoma. Snow is teeth grinding and itchy. And his breath is foul ! OMG.

I decided to keep Snow in his own "apartment" and let George share with him. Ziggy is much better around Snow, but every now and then still gets a wild hair and decides to go after him. I don't want Snow to be stressed out and unhappy, so keeping him in his own cage is the best solution. I'm putting George in with Snow because they seem to have bonded and I want Snow to have a BFFF (Best Forever Ferret Friend).

I also made one of our small travel/medical cages into Ziggy Jail. Instead of being put up in his regular cage when he misbehaves, he gets put in this cage for 10 minutes. Hopefully, it will help get the message across that picking on others is not OK!

My little foster girls are doing great and I'm crazy in love with them. I'm way overdue for posting pics. I'll get to it soon. Adoptions are slow, I guess due to the economy being bad. I'm in no hurry, though. They are just adorable!

EVERYBODY DUCK!!!

Misty
Vestia

Oreo

The above photos are of the thre little girls I'm going to foster! I took these at the rescue, so when they get over here, more photos are sure to follow!

I've been pondering the Duck Soup issue and I don't think I'm ready to take it away from my guys right now. They love it, it's healthy for them and it is a special time I have with them when I give it to them. I won't be doing it daily with my foster girls, so that is kind of good. But my little ones just love it and why take away something that is good for them to have?

Go, Duck Soup!

WORLD WAR FERRET

NEWS REGARDING THE RESCUE EFFORT:

Arrrggghh! OK. This is what's going on today. I am not going to do my own rescue. Instead, I'm going to be a foster home/satellite rescue for my friend Dana (Forever Homes Wanted Ferret Rescue). This is much better for everyone: me, hubby, HAFA and the ferret-loving community. We only need to concentrate on fund-raising and other support for one rescue, instead of two. Help and funds are scant enough without the added stress. It actually makes me feel good that they were going to support me somehow, anyway, and that Dana is willing to let me be a serious foster home for her. I guess they like me, despite the fact that I am kind of loopy!

So, anyway, I bought home cages that I need to clean and set up. At first it didn't even look like this was going to happen. K. and I had a difficult discussion around the whole rescue issue. He has his thoughts and ideas -- I have mine. The sticking point was the problem of having enough space for the little guys (cages and free-roam space). Lack of communication, me getting upset and throwing my hands up in the air, saying, "Just forget it!" put a strain on the subject, to say the least. So I declared myself as being done.

Then hubby decided it's OK to sell the treadmill and rearrange some stuff in our workout room so I can have half of it for my cages and play space. So we are back on. There's lots to do and I think it's OK to be excited again....!

IN THE FERRET NEWS:

Well. It's been interesting. We've had Snow now for about 5 days now. He is getting along pretty well with everyone except Ziggy and Milo. Milo is my baby, only about 6 months old. He is Ziggy's ferret. Right now I think it's a pecking order issue between the baby and the new guy.

Ziggy is my one-year-old. He has made it his job to defend the Hidey Hole and his pet ferret, Milo. Not to mention his panda bear, his bubble wrap, his balls, his fish...etc. So he and Snow are not liking each other so much. They are fighting, with blood once (I believe it was an accident - Ziggy's foot got nicked) and poo more than once.

The poo is Snow's. At first, I though Ziggy was scaring the s**t out of Snow. But, I've figured out, that Snow is using it as a weapon!! I guess, since he can't spray, he poos! Here's hoping he gets past that little behavior....

Anyway, these two were at it again this morning. I decided I'm doing no one any favors by jumping in every time, so I stood close by and watched (just in case I saw an ear fly across the room or something). It was puff tail and scramble and rolling. Ziggy was dookdookdook-ing and Snow was screaming like a girl. They barely touched each other, really, just the neck holding that's normal. A little while later, I find Ziggy in Snow's cage, laying next to Snow and being nice (but dooking under his breath).

So there you go. Ferret behaviour 101. Fighting is normal. Perhaps even a bit of blood is normal. And poo. Our job is to make sure no body parts fall off and give lots of love, reassurance and Ferratone.

OH, MY ZIGGY...

My little Ziggy. He's one of my WildCatz. The last couple of days he had been very quiet and a bit needy. He wants to be cuddled and carried. He's playing, but he hasn't been doing any flying leaps onto my leg.

I get concerned when their personality changes. It's not that he's depressed, really. He's just...quiet. He switched off his Silly Button. I tend to speculate as to why. Perhaps Cupid's absence is starting to sink in? Maybe he's picking up on the fact that things are different? Maybe the "pecking order" is shifting?

He seems to be eating OK. But he has slimmed down. I know that is normal for this time of year and for his age, though. Rocky did the same thing last year at this time and I was so worried he was going to dry up and blow away! ....So I'm starting to understand their cycles....

Re: My Duck Soup made with fresh chicken and TF Complete Care mixed in ~ My blind guy, Dave, knows when I'm making a fresh batch of DS. He hears the blender and smells the smells and comes into the kitchen to check it out. He always gets a taste of the new batch. I was anxious to see how he liked the new recipe. Well....he loved it. His little tongue was on high speed, lapping it up! Too cute! I guess I got his seal of approval in the fom of tongue licks in the DS bowl!!

That's it for todays news...

DAVE'S BLOG

O, hai, dis be Dave. I write de blog tonite becuz mah Mommy dozn't feel goodz. She went to da peeple vet and he sez she gotz a bronkitus.

So, dis good tyme to remind everybuddy to be carefulz wit ur ferrets when u getz a cold or sumting. We can git sik ezy. And we can cach ur coldz!

We all been good boyz todayz. We sure miss r friend, Cupid, tho. Mommy sez he went to a place he not sik enymor. Dat makes me very happy.

Milo got black eye, cuz he play too rough with Ziggy. But he still iz playin too rough, even tho Mommy said stop. He prolly git anuther black eye. Dat be funny to me!

OK, dat all. Mommy prolly back tomorrow.

Love,

Dave E. Bear

OUCHIE! MAH EYE!

I got Milo into the vet this morning. Heehee, he has a black eye! It's an injury from some major rumbling, but, luckily, there's no damage to the cornea ~ just the lid is bruised. When I called for the appointment, they told me that I shouldn't have used the Trioptic-S before having his eye checked. Apparently, there is a risk of the steriod in that medicine to cause blindness if it gets in to a scratch.

Well, damn. Color me panicked. I even "Googled" information about the medicine this weekend and found nothing about that contraindication. Of, course, I never would have used it, had I known.

It turned out OK, though. In fact Dr. Dori wants me to continue the medicine for three more days. Whew....

Lesson #101,563: Be careful of what you use on your ferret, even if it's a medicine designed for ferret use and the internet says it's fine.