Troubles is one of the few ferrets whose birthday we actually know. He was born October 1st, 1994. Yep, his 9th birthday has come and gone! When he was turned he'd been living in 2 cat carriers joined by a plastic tube. Once allowed the freedom of our home, he was constantly finding "Trouble". His favorite thing in life? Pepsi! At 7yrs old he developed a kidney problem, last year, his 8th, insulinoma and a heart condition.

Post Script - My Sweet Troubles died on March 23rd, 2004, at the very old age of 9yrs. 5mos. and 23days. The last six months of his life he and Abu would come and get me every evening. The three of us would then nap for an hour or two wrapped in our favorite blanket, a gift from our friend Del. If all the world had 'such sweet Troubles' it would be a much better place.

This is Odo and Abu. Abu is the marked white, Odo the chocolate, more about him later. Abu is everybody's favorite. He has never met a soul he didn't like and as you can see, is a cuddler. He came to us looking for a permanent home after having been 'passed around' a bit. He is 7-8 yrs old now, has ardenal gland disease, insulinoma and a heart condition, but that scarcely slows him down.

Every evening now he looks for his napping partner, Troubles, whom we lost in March. Now he and I alone nap curled on the couch, but not as often and not for as long. I think its his way of staying close to our Troubles.

Pippin! Is actually a short version of Pip Squeak, because he is. We believe he was born in February 1998, making him 6yrs old. He came to us from one of the marinas on Lake Mead of all places! The teenager who had him wouldn't say where she got him, didn't know if he was male or female and wouldn't even let us in. She handed him out the door and that was that. Pippin is one of the very few ferrets we have which are not 'Marshall Farms' ferrets.

Pippin' is a shoe collector. He needs one of every kind. Just ask anyone who has been to visit. Show up with a type of shoe he doesn't have, and he will try to drag it off of your foot! If that doesn't work, he'll be glad to keep the foot too!

He is also one of the few ferrets I have come across who actually loves meat. Chicken, fish, beef, venison, he doesn't care. If its meat he wants some. Woe unto those who light the bar b que and don't plan to share!!

Pippin' has adrenal gland disease.

Fetish and her cagemate SideKick moved in with us in March of 2001. Her owner swore she was 7yrs old & they'd had her since she was a baby. Neither of them even had names. If you opened their cage, SideKick was so aggressive he would 'come for you' and Fetish would bite if you could catch her. After nearly a month of intensive work her true nature asserted itself. She is an affectionate sweet girl with a slightly disturbing predication for feet, thus the name - Fetish. We believe she is actually closer to 7 than 9, is also the rare 'not a Marshall Farm'. She too has just begun adrenal.

Post Script - On March 18th, 2004 Fetish and I lost our SideKick. He slipped into a coma for unknown reasons and died. He is the second cagemate she has outlived and we were very concerned about her emotional well being. But with some extra love and attention, our Little Widow seems to be adjusting to life on her own. Take a look at their webpage.

This is Lauren, our red haired child, and her temper matches that red hair. She is one of two youngsters we have, at the tender age of about 3 1/2. Lori was a dog bite victim whose owners didn't want to pay her vet bill. Despite her temper, she can be a sweet, loving little girl, just don't cross her! Abu is 'her man' and woe unto any of the other girls who pay him too much attention.

This is Odo. When Odo and his cagemate Spooky were brought to us, Odo had chemical burns over most of his body. Spooky, being the dedicated mate he was, apparently tried to lick off what ever had burned his friend. Despite our best efforts Spooky died. As you can imagine, Odo never developed the need for human companionship, but he did need other ferrets. Fortunately we have several cuddlers in the Weyr willing to oblige.

Jessica. When she was seven her owner decided she didn't want her any more, she was old. She moved in with us

'post op' after a suspicious tumor was removed from her neck, and stayed. The tumor was lymphoma and the

beginning of the end for Jess. We refer to her as our 'couch potato'. Her two favorite things in life? Curling on the couch with you to watch TV and working

on the tunnel she is digging outside.

Post Script - Jessica's tumor continued to grow to a

massive size. The day after she completed her tunnel,

April 2nd, 2002 she died. She is buried in it.

People are always amazed when I tell them depressed ferrets are capable of suicide. Vanessa was one of those. When we picked her up, she was so weak she literally could not lift her head or sit up. Our vet said she would die. But we do not suffer death lightly here. Every day she went back to be checked and every day the doctor shook her head. After a week, she said 'maybe'. Now, 2yrs later, she is truly a Momma's girl, happy and well adjusted. Unfortunately, like many 4yr olds, she has both adrenal and insulinoma.

Post Script - Vanessa under went surgery for her adrenal tumors and was recovering well. Then two weeks later, on December 10th, 2003, she suddenly, unexpectedly, died.

Our hearts broke.

Although this is not one of our better pictures, it epitomizes Soda's personality. She never walks anywhere,

she prances every where! This little girl lives to be outside - sun, rain, heat or cold, she wants to play outside.

Enroute from Minnesota to a new home in southern

California, her owner got caught with her. She was impounded by the Ca. authorities and we got called; thus the name Minnesota, Soda for short.

Though a happy little girl, she came to us with insulinoma and has since developed adrenal. But don't tell her,

she'd never believe she's sick.

Soda epitomizes what cooperation between ferret groups, Ferrets Anonymous in California, The FurpeopleWeyr and 24 Carat Ferret in Nevada, can accomplish.

Well done Soda!

If you need your flower beds weeded, this is the guy to help you do it. Tyco loves working in the garden early in the morning. No weed is safe, no stones are left unturned. Ty is here due to an injury which caused damage to his brain and vocal cords. He is a 'special' child now and learning disabled, and he no longer has a voice. In the past year and a half he has developed insulinoma, cardiomyopothy, and adrenal. Quite a bit for one guy to handle, but he does okay.

Post Script - Tyco died November 21st, 2003.

He is buried in one of the flower beds he loved.

Stinker. We call him Doctor Stinky. His calm, quiet way

of dealing with the world has led the sickest of the

sick to bond to him. He cares for them in life, and more than once, has curled around another and lain there

quietly as his charge walked away and over the Rainbow Bridge.

Post Script - Stinky recieved honours for his selflessnes in

the March/April 2004 issue of Ferrets magazine, in an article on Ferrets helping Ferrets.

He crossed the Bridge March 24th, 2003.

This is Farli, our DogPound boy. He found his way to the Weyr after we recieved an anonymous phone call from the local pound. Farli had been dumbed in the middle of one of the coldest nights of the winter. When Animal Control Officers arrived in the morning, he was frantically scratching at the door trying to get in. After clearing his quarantine, he was scheduled for euthanasia...it seems having a hair loss disease can be fatal at the pound (considered unadoptable), thus the phone call. He, of course, has adrenal disease, but is responding well to treatment.

For those of you who read 'When Lightening Strikes' and 'ahhd', these are part of Bishop's family; Itchy is the chocolate and Peanut the albino was her cagemate. Itchy is a youngster being born New Year's eve 2002. He was suppose to be a 'tempory' here, but when Bishop adopted him as hers, he was fated to stay. When it became clear Peanut had bonded to him as well and we knew that at any time Bishop would be taken from them, I resolved not seperate them. Itchy is a healthy child, but Peanut has insulinoma, adrenal and an interment illness that so far as defied diagnosis.

Check back for QuasiMoto's story in a day or two.

This is another photo of Fred, the First Ferret. Check back in a day or two for new People. Thanks!

This is another photo of Fred, the First Ferret. Check back in a day or two for new People. Thanks!

This is another photo of Fred, the First Ferret. Check back in a day or two for new People. Thanks!

We lost Nemesis Saturday, he was seven and a half years old. After Itchy left us, I wondered how long he would stay, they were so close. In his final weeks I would lay on the floor next to where he was sleeping in 'his' hammock and knowing someone was near, he'd wake up and look at me like "what's up Mom?" and then go back to sleep. More than a few times I got kisses, such a rare thing from Nyhm.

When Nyhm was 6 months old his owner turned him in because of a different economic crisis with the same result. No work, no jobs, no money. I offered free food before I'd even seen him and was met with gratitude and reality, "that's very kind, but what do I do when this is gone. I can't afford to feed my kid". So I took Nemesis in. Once I saw him, I was glad I did. He was living in a parakeet cage and was so bored he'd eaten his nylon hammock.

Nyhm missed the touching, petting and cuddling in his formative years. As a result, he was never comfortable with being handled. Not that he didn't like his humans, he just never came to be comfortable being held, or touched for that matter. It's what made kisses from him so special. Him reaching out to touch when it was not an easy thing for him to do.

We quarantine for 2 weeks here for the obvious reasons plus it lets us get a grip on any behavior problems we need to address. Nyhm had several. He didn't eat ferret food from a bowl, the floor of his cage was the usual place, didn't know what a litter box was for, nor did he know how to play as a ferret should. He was given a little stuffed ferret to keep him company and he latched onto that thing with a fervor that never faded.

During his quarantine his 'baby' was his constant companion, sharing the lessons Nemesis learned. One day I walked in and found the Baby face down in the food bowl, 'this is the food bowl'. Another his Baby was tucked into a hammock, another in a sleep sack or blanket. They were learning fast. The one that set me into hysterical laughter, the most profound, was the day I found the baby in a corner in the litter box. Every day of his life ever after Nemesis was 100% with his litter box habits until he was just too sick to stand in a box, then he'd struggle for all he was worth to get to the puppy pad placed next to that box. Nyhm and his baby. His last night here he picked that Baby up, gave it a good shake, and stuffed it back into bed beside him. I still have no idea what his Baby did, but Nyhm did.

When Nyhm cleared quarantine, Itchy took over. Saving ferrets was what Itchy did. That bond would last them their life time, 7 long ferret years. It was what gave Nyhm, the sicker of the two, the strength to carry on. Without Itchy, I knew we would be counting the days.

I buried Nemesis and his baby together. I also placed a tube between his grave and his beloved Itchy's. Nemesis loved his tubes and I thought they'd both enjoy one to go.

We all miss you Nyhm.