Photo Album Page 1

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	Fido was our first ferret... the one who started it all. All it took was a few kisses on the nose, and I was hooked. Fido was our nursemaid: Anytime another ferret was sick, we would put Fido in with him. She’d curl up next to the sick guy, and help keep him warm and comfortable, for as long as it took. It didn’t even matter if the ferret was part of her group or not — she’d care for them all. Fido loved Christmas: That’s when she could steal her favorite toys — satin-covered Christmas tree ornaments. She died on Christmas day, 1997. She was about 11 years old. Fido appears on the New Rainbow Bridge print, near the center, appearing to jump over a cat.
	Spot was our second ferret. Diane said Fido needed a friend, but I saw right through that one. Not that it mattered much. Spot was Diane’s favorite ferret; he always used to greet her at the door when she’d get home from work. He lived to be nearly 9 years old. Spot appears on the New Rainbow Bridge print, at the bottom, right near the poem.
	Rover was our first broken ferret; one of her ribs sort of stuck out a bit, and she always ran a bit sideways. But that never stopped her. It was a regular thing around here: All of a sudden you’d see a cat go tearing through the house; then a few seconds later, there’d be Rover, galloping after it. Then, a few seconds later, another cat would be racing in the opposite direction, and then, hot on its heels, along came Rover.
	We named our first albino ferret Princess, but it wasn’t long before that changed to Shark. She would sneak up through my chair, and bite me on the hip or arm, and then slip away so I couldn’t catch her. I finally came up with the perfect solution: I taught her to attack our daughter, Tara, and leave me alone. Well, at least I was happy!
	We get a call one day — long before our rescue days — asking us if we’d be interested in another ferret. We met about the middle of the way, and were handed Lady. They had a different name for her, but she was such a dainty, delicate little lady it seemed to fit. Lady must have had a mother complex, because she always seemed to be adopting stuffed animals. It was a regular thing to see her dragging a stuffed animal from one hiding place to another… often one that was considerably larger than she was.
	The Puff was our first true “rescue.” One day I was reading an article in the newspaper about a woman whose home was raided by the SPCA. They confiscated over 150 animals, including two ferrets. Diane called the SPCA every day for two weeks, telling them not to destroy the ferrets: They had a home. Finally they called: One of the ferrets had been promised to someone else, but Diane could come over and take the other one. The name “Puff” was a no-brainer: She had this amazing white coat, and looked like a little puff-ball. We quickly realized she was blind and deaf, but it never seemed to slow her down. Four months after she came to live with us, we took her to the LOS show, where she took first place in the Handicap specialty ring.