Allow me to introduce you to our "pound ferret", Gus. He was an albino ferret. He was part of a collective animal control rescue effort. The home he had been living in prior to coming to us was very neglected. The owners weren't even living there...just the animals, and there were many of them! They basically came in, passed out the food, and left. Nothing was being cleaned up. So, this handsome little guy came to live with us. He was taking baths on a regular basis, was well fed and cared for, and amused us with his never ending antics. One of our favorites is what we used to call his Indian rain dance. He did this when he was attempting to be real vicious. What he was really doing was trying to "skunk" you, but he couldn't because all those stinky glands had been removed. He really thought he was really intimidating. He also had a huge foot fetish. I can not tell you how many times he was  out of his cage, and scared me half to death when I'd felt his tiny tongue licking my toes under my desk! Anything he could possibly get into was fair game. No slipper, garbage can, plastic bag, shirt sleeve, or pant leg was safe from his nosiness. If there was any kind of opening, it had to be explored!

Gus was a sweet little fella. Unfortunately, due to his being deaf, he never got to hear us tell him what a little charmer he was. He also never got to hear how cute he was when he snored! Yes, Gus snored when he slept. He made the most precious little noises! He almost sounded just like a baby when he was sleeping...with the way he cooed.

Even though Gus used to try to "skunk" us, he never was a vicious ferret. As in matter of fact, he was so tame that you could wear him like a old fur stole.

In his old age, Gus got diabetes. He had been going downhill for a while. His days with that illness were up and down. One day he'd drink water almost by the bucketful, sleep a lot, lose his balance and for several days, sometimes even for a week or more, he would be fine, until the next episode. There was actually one point in his last month where I thought he had passed. I even got everything together to bury him, and when I put him in the box, then he finally opened his eyes. In the late fall of 2006, Gus passed away in his sleep.