WISDOM POINT EARNED

LOOK!!! It's Snow and Ziggy, all curled up and cuddly in the Sacred Hidey Hole! Momma is soooo happy!!! Whew!

And the Moral of the Story is: Patience is Key When Dealing With Stubborn Ferret.

I was at the rescue on Sunday, helping with clean day. It's hard work, but I really love it. The people are awesome and the ferrets are a joy. I also brought my three foster girls home! They are adapting well -- of course they are separated from my boys - at least for a couple of weeks. They are just beautiful. I'll post pictures soon!

Last Thursday, little Milo (my baby) decided to come down with stinky diarrhea. He was playing and eating - didn't act sick at all. I waited until Friday morning, and he still had it, so I took him to the vet on Friday afternoon. We went into the exam room and, while we were waiting for the vet, Milo pottied on the floor. And...it was perfectly normal! It was a miracle!! LOL! Dr. Taylor looked him over real good and said he thought Milo had a little angry colon. So we had to withold treats for a couple of days to make sure his potties really were straightened out.

He's fine. I just know to never take a chance with diarrhea in a ferret. They can dehydrate very quickly. I'd rather take them to the vet and be pleasantly suprised (like this visit) rather than take any chances.

Time to go get the girls out! I'll post again soon!

IT'S PATHETIC, REALLY

OK, so I will start with the happy news, first, since happy news makes me happy! :) This is Snow! He came home with me yesterday. So far, he is settling in pretty well. There is a problem with him and Ziggy not getting along and fighting to the point of puffy tail, poop and blood (Ziggy's foot). It doesn't appear to be one bullying the other. It seems to be a mutual dislike. That part has been a drag and I hope it will work itself out sooner rather than later. I gave everyone a bath in lavender baby shampoo today. Perhaps this picture of Ziggy can explain how everyone felt about a bath:

LOL! It's his porcupine look!

Anyway, K. is OK with Snow coming home with me. BUT, he is NOT OK with any type of rescue. I got that message loud and clear last night. I've cried my eyes out about it. Now I just need to move forward and accept that it just isn't going to happen. I feel like a real dumbass. Oh well.

I 'm grateful to have my six little guys that I love so much and who love me, too. That's all that matters, anyway.

Eh. I'm in no mood to write.

AIN'T SKEERED

These are photos from yesterday evening. Keith did this thing where we can now block off our side patio/garden area and the ferrets can go out and play. (He's just the best!) It's a long, narrow area and,of course, we are out there with them at all times. They can explore the garden, dig, go in the tunnel under the dog house...it's cool! We just let Ziggy and Rocky out last night to see how they'd like it and, as you can see, they were pretty happy!

I just looked out the window and I can see our gardenia bush has exploded with white flowers. The white oleander is in full bloom, as well. And some white lilies. White daisies, all in bloom. Cupid was white. I take all of the white blooms as a sign he is OK and his little spirit is dancing and dooking!

There is a little guy at the rescue named "Snow" (his picture is in a previous post) and he has been on my mind for the last few days. Apparently he was adopted once, but returned to the rescue when the guy couldn't afford to have him. How sad to be surrendered twice. Snow is a good little guy, very cute and sweet. A perfect match for our group. He just may be coming home with me on the 31 st....

I printed out the government forms for a non-profit status. I really want to establish my self as a very small foster home and adoption for ferrets. Hubby is kind of freaking out, I think. I see him struggle with his own love for ferrets and wanting me to be happy and his resistance to let the IRS in our business....he says he's scared. I ain't skeered. I have to follow my heart on this.

And I know he's prolly afraid I'm gonna end up with 100 ferrets, which isn't what I want. I'm talking small scale, here...like no more than 10, ever. I have a lot of work ahead of me, anyway...I'm going to attempt this without a lawyer -- the filing fees are outrageous enough without having to pay someone to do it for me on top of it. I can do it. I did FAFSA forms for both of my sons for five years. I can take on Form 1023.

And Now......The part of the blog you've been waiting for.........(drum roll, please).......

ZIGGY vs. THE BOWL OF DUCK SOUP

Damn. Again, tonight, he won't eat it out of the bowl. It's off of my finger or out of his little red spoon or nothin'. So that's what we did. Off my finger, out of his little red spoon. My plan to outwit him has failed. He is officially smarter than I am.

So wrong. Soooo wrong......

GENERALALITIES

That Dave. He's such a Duck Soup addict. I feed all my guys DS every night. I hold each one individually in my lap and they eat their soup while I pet them and talk to them. This gives me a little bit of time with each ferret, plus I can do little "inspections" to make sure they don't have any lumps or bumps. Dave just loves it. Sometimes he waits for me in the chair (too cute). After he eats, he stays in my lap and cleans his face and feet and stretches. It always brings me out of whatever is distracting me.

Sometimes George hangs around in my lap a few minutes, too; the rest of the guys can't wait to jump back down (they still have to give me a 'lovie' first, though, that's the rule).

Every now and then I put the bowl of Cupid's leftovers (what didn't get pulled into his syringe) on the floor. Dave gets it every time! He may be blind, but he can sniff out a bowl of Duck Soup. I don't mind at all ~ it's very good for them.

I'm thinking of trying real chicken in the place of the chicken baby food I use, just to see how the like it. I tried offering raw beef a few days ago, which didn't go over too well, haha, but perhaps boiled chicken in the DS will be acceptable. :?

Cupid is still with us. Still bad, no real change. One of his little eyes was all gooey today when I got home from work. His nose was a little crusty, too. I got a syringe of soup and a bit of water down him. My poor baby.

Last night, Keith put Cupid in a little bed and put him on the floor next to his side of the bed ((so sweet)). Cupid slept there until about 4 am, when I woke up cough, cough, coughing....So I got up and put Cupid back in his cage.

I am sleep deprived, but I don't care. It's worth it.

LUMPS AND PSYCHICS

It has been a long week. I'm fighting a bug and am worn out. Little Cupid had a couple of "good" days and now he's not-so-good. I'm trying to get used to that and not freak out every time he's feeling bad. But it's really hard.

Yesterday I was scratching his tummy and felt a large lump on his left side. There's no sense in rushing him to Dr. Dori, though. He has an appointment one week from this Monday and she'll be repeating his x-rays then. Honestly, I'm preparing myself for the worst.

This is a weird thing, but sometimes I wish I could take Cupid to a pet psychic. He's always been such a serious and rather sad little dude. I'd like to know what is in his head. And I want him to know how deeply he is loved. Alas, we don't have the money to spend on such a thing! Guess I'll have to depend on my own intuition....

I need sleep....

HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR WEASEL TODAY?

The fuzzies are kind of quiet tonight. I went and got Cupid and told him I wanted to hold him for a minute. Gave him some Ferretone so he'd linger in my lap. It lasted two minutes, perhaps, before he wiggled to get down. He's never been real big on being held, but he's become even more crabby about it since he got sick. Well. He gets lovies whether he wants them or not!

Dave wouldn't have any of Cupid's grouchiness tonight. He found Cupid, woke him up and pushed him out of his bed. Then Dave proceeded to "pounce" Cupid, inviting him to play. (Pouncing in Dave and Cupid's case is more like slowly climbing, but their intention is that of pouncing). Cupid ignored Dave. Dave pounced (climbed) on Cupid again. Cupid ignored. Finally Dave lets out this big, loud, "KECK! KECK!" Cupid went into the Hidey Hole.

And that was that.

Tomorrow is National Ferret Day! Hug a Weasel ! We (some members of the Ferret Association) were in the Houston Chronicle's Lifestyle section today with a very nice little article about ferrets. Also, on the Chronicle's website, is a photo gallery with some pictures. I was all excited and was showing some people at work. One lady said she thought I needed help because I'm "obsessed". Ugh. Whatever.


Several people have notified us that they need to find a new home for their ferrets. The rescue isn't taking anymore in right now (temporarily), so it's hard to know what to tell these folks. I keep telling hy husband that I'm very serious about starting a rescue. He's OK with it for a future goal, but now isn't the time. I thought of approaching the people that are doing the rescue I'm volunteering for and seeing if we could work together and expand the current one. We both live on the north side of Houston, but on opposite ends...so we could cover a broader area. We'd still be raising funds for just one rescue, instead of two separate ones. Don't know what anyone else would think about it ~ just an idea I've had.

Anyway, here's good link if you'd like some ideas on how to help out your local rescue:

http://www.sjferret.com/100ways.html



My ferret rescued me....

(photo: George)