An Anniversary on the 4th of July

17 years ago, on 4th of July weekend, I brought home the toughest ferret I have ever known. Nyssa was a panda kit that was in the only pet store in North Carolina that I know of to have been shut down by the responsible authorities. Yes, it was that bad. That's where Nyssa started her journey, in a very small cage filled with 20 kits, no food, mountains of poop. The owners and their friends were smoking in the store. From what I later read I didn't see the half of how awful that place was.

Anyway, I went to a company picnic held on the grounds of the local nuclear plant. Don't even get me started on that. Doesn't everyone picnic at a nuclear plant? Anyway... One of my coworkers had a German shepherd on a leash. Nyssa wasn't impressed. She wasn't curious; she wanted the dog gone and was aggressive about it. The shepherd was absolutely terrified of her, growled and backed away as Nyssa, on her leash and harness, continued to challenge the dog and advance. Yeah, I picked her up because that could have gotten ugly, though I'm not sure for who.

When a ferret is diagnosed with lymphosarcoma the average life expectancy is 90 days according to the Dr. Dan Hudson, who was treating Nyssa at the time. Sadly I had way too much experience with that. Nearly a year and a half later I was writing about Nyssa's eighth birthday. She was just too stubborn to die despite having added adrenal disease to her list of problems. I finally had to let her go the following month.

Anyway, on this 4th of July I am remembering Nyssa. Happy Fourth to everyone out there. I hope you and yours, both two and four legged, are having a great day.

The Texas Trio

Just over a year ago, when I was living and working in Texas, I got in touch with the Warm and Fuzzy Ferret Rescue and ended up adopting this wonderful trio of ferrets. Tata, the big boy, is somewhere around three to three and a half years old. The two girls, Izzie (standard sable in the picture) will be three in April. Liira (chocolate sable) is two and a half. They are absolutely delightful ferrets. Izzie and Liira are mostly high energy while Tata is my new Mr. Cuddle Weasel. Oh, he runs and plays like crazy too, but he's the one who climbs up on the couch and goes to sleep curled up against me.

I thought this was an ideal time to relaunch this blog and introduce the new business since tonight, once again, it was time for ferrets and figure skating. As I explained during the 2006 Olympics every four years I turn into a couch potato for two weeks and catch all the Olympic figure skating I can. It's one sport I absolutely love to watch.

When I watch the Olympics I also play with ferrets. After all, there is no reason for them to be caged if I'm in the living room, is there? Eight years ago, thanks to Nyssa, Chin Soon, Ella and Zephyr we had evenings of ice dancing and weasel war dancing. Four years later Nyssa was gone but Ella, Zephyr and Chin Soon were helping me enjoy ferrets and figure skating again. My three little weasels played and I watched skiers go "low in the weasel". Now, eight years after my original post and 12 years after my first night of ferrets and figure skating a new trio is helping me have a wonderful evening.

Yes, I miss the ferrets who have gone but with Tata, Izzie and Liira I can still enjoy my own special favorite way to spend an evening, with snow falling outside, weasels dancing and playing inside, and the beauty and grace of figure skating drastically increasing my time with the TV turned on.