A year ago I was on a plane heading home after a vacation. As our plane landed in Atlanta I turned on my phone and my son Jeremy had left me a voice mail that went something like this, “Hey, Mommy. There is a new pet in the house. I am going to take it to the shelter on Monday. It’s in the sun room.” I was not really surprised. Everyone in my family is soft-hearted when it comes to animals and we often keep the strays that find their way to our yard and eventually into our hearts. For some reason, I had a feeling this was not another dog or cat.
During the drive home, I called my son so I would know what to expect when I got home. He told me he brought home a ferret. Initially, I was disturbed because I had never known anyone who had owned a ferret. Ferrets have a reputation for being smelly, being mean, and that they bite. Boy was I wrong, but more about that later.
When I asked Jeremy how he got sucked into bringing a ferret home, he told me Woodstock’s story. He was sitting at an outdoor café when a guy riding a bike stopped and asked if any of them wanted a ferret. If not, he was going to drop him off somewhere; just let him go. My son said he couldn’t do that and said that he would take him. The guy gave Jeremy a cage, supplies, and a book about ferrets.
When we finally arrived home we headed over to the cage. Looking back at us was the funniest little animal I have ever seen; pointy nose, sharp teeth, and sharper claws. The cage smelled a bit musky, but not too bad. We did not take him out of the cage. After unpacking our suitcases, we grabbed the book about ferrets.
The first thing we discovered was that ferrets are not ‘smelly’. Yes, they do have a scent, but if you keep their cages clean the odor is minimal. We occasionally give Woodstock a bath, but he prefers to ‘shower’. He will run in and out of the water, jumping back and forth, and bobbing his head up and down. We don’t have to dry him afterwards because he becomes so active that he dries very quickly.
The second thing we discovered was that Woodstock, and ferrets in general, are very curious. The first time, we were out in our yard and Woodstock was in the garage. We took our eyes off of him and before we knew it, he was gone. As small as he is, we did not think he would get very far, but it was getting dark and our time to find him was limited. Did I tell you that Woodstock is very fast? Well, he is and that took him farther than we would have imagined in those couple of minutes.
We trained Woodstock to come when we shake his treat can so I ran into the house to get it. In less that a minute I was outside shaking that can like a crazy woman, but no Woodstock. We were calling his name and shaking that can. After about 10 minutes or so, I hear our neighbor (three houses down) ask my husband if we were looking for a ferret. We are very lucky that Woodstock ended up at the door of animal friendly people. He would have died of dehydration within three days on his own.
The third thing we discovered was that Woodstock is a thief and he practices daily. The word ferret comes from the Latin word ‘furo’, meaning thief. If Woodstock finds something he likes he takes it and hides it away, usually under the bed or in a drawer. We have learned where his hiding places are and occasionally we retrieve the stolen items. Additionally, Woodstock is very smart. If we move one of his hidden treasures, he will take it and hide it in a new location.
At this point, you have probably concluded, and rightfully so, that Woodstock never made it to the animal shelter. This entertaining, mischievous, and energetic little guy has become a member of our family and I cannot imagine our family without him. It took a lot of time and energy to keep him entertained, so we adopted a second ferret that we named Chica as a playmate and companion.
