Triangle Ferret Lovers Newsletter
Issue 4, February 1996
DIRECTIONS: From Raleigh- US 1 to Ten-Ten exit, left to Apex, left on Salem St., building on right. Park at Apex First Baptist Church. From Durham/Chapel Hill- Hwy 55 to Apex, left on Salem St., church will be on your left before YFC building.
If you plan to carry your ferret around the faire or participate in the demonstrations, please bring an appropriate carry bag and/or harness and leash. If you really want to be authentic a leather or braided rope/fabric harness would work well. Creativity is a plus! Feel free to bring songs, poems, stories, props, or teach your ferret a few tricks to show off. You can even dress them in costumes. Hands-on is very important, and audience participation is a big part of the atmosphere, so please bring only your even-tempered and child-friendly fuzzball. Costume makers will be available to help you decide on your dress, if you need assistance.
Ferrets are naturally inquisitive and can squeeze through very small spaces. It is important to "ferret- proof" your home before bringing your pet home. Thoroughly check every room it will inhabit, sealing all holes and openings wider than 1 inch in diameter. Make sure that all windows that may be opened have secure screens. Check the openings around plumbing, heating and air conditioning ducts or pipes.
There is no innate animosity between ferrets and dogs and cats, and all can usually share a household with little difficulty. However, ferrets have been known to attack pet birds, so it is advisable for owners of both to take appropriate precautions to prevent these encounters.
Considered by many to be a strong "dark horse" contender in the 1996 election, the Furo Party is nonetheless little-known to the American public. Important planks in the party's platform include federal raisin subsidies, the addition of Bitter Apple to the federal list of controlled substances, and the eradication, using nuclear weapons if necessary, of California's Fish & Game Department, which official party literature describes as "the greatest threat to Americans' freedom into the 21st century."
Although the Furo party rolls claim about 10 million members nationwide, turnout in previous years has been weak, largely due to the fact that, amazingly, none of the 10 million are eligible to vote. A party official who wished to remain anonymous described this as "a mockery of American justice, a system of blatant discrimination based upon the sole and irrelevant criterion of how many legs a citizen has," and which he vowed that party candidates elected to office would immediately work to rectify.
By Chris von Seggern
FML post February 1, 1996
(reprinted by permission)
Ms. Patricia A. Willard, VP
Performance Foods, Inc.
510 Green Manor Court
Dayton, OH 45415
1-800-843-1738
Enclose a $16.30 personal check or money order for one
5lb. bag, or $44.95 for one 20lb. bag. You will need to
provide a UPS shipping address.
Different ferret organizations recognize different colors and patterns, but unless you're planning to enter your ferret in a show, the exact label isn't particularly important. Some of the more commonly accepted colors are described in general terms below, adapted from a summary written by William and Diane Killian of Zen and the Art of Ferrets.
The albino is the old true ferret color. White with red eyes and pink nose. A dark-eyed white can have very light eyes and can possibly be confused with an albino. These can actually range from white to cream colored with the whiter the color the better.
A dark-eyed white (often called a black-eyed white) is a ferret with white guard hairs but eyes darker than the red of an albino.
The sable has rich dark brown guard hairs with golden highlights, with a white to golden undercoat. A black sable has blue-black guard hairs with no golden or brownish cast, with a white to cream undercoat.
The chocolate is described as warm dark to milk chocolate brown with a white to golden or amber undercoat and highlights.
A cinnamon is a rich light reddish brown with a golden to white undercoat. This can also be used to describe a ferret with light, tan guard hairs with pinkish or reddish highlights. Straight tan is a champagne.
A silver has a tendency for the guard hair to lighten to white evenly over the body. As a ferret ages each progressive coat change has a higher percentage of white rather than dark guard hairs. Eventually the ferret could be all white.
White patches on the throat might be called throat stars, throat stripes, or bibs; white toes, mitts (sometimes called silver mitts), or stockings go progressively further up the legs. A blaze or badger has a white stripe on the top of the head, and a panda has a fully white head.
Fuji: 1 year old spayed (but not descented) female sable with gorgeous markings who came to the shelter in December. Very active, energetic and playful with people, but shy around other ferrets, cats, and children. Foods: Marshall's, Science Diet. Treats: Ferretone. She is up-to-date on shots.
Roscoe: 3 year old albino neutered and descented male from Marshall Farms. Rabies and Canine Distemper shots up-to-date. Active and energetic, Roscoe loves to get out and play - with anything! Lifelong pal to Bandit (see bio below). Gets along well with older kids and cats, but tends to nip when excited (who doesn't?). Loves people, but is very aggressive toward all other ferrets except Bandit. Only adoptable to an experienced ferret owner who is willing to give him special care and loving attention. Favorite toys: anything!, bags, balls, socks, and stuffed animals. Likes Nutri-cal/Ferret-vite and Ferretone as a treat. He eats a combination of Marshall's, Totally Ferret, and Kaytee.
Bandit: 3 year old sable mitt spayed female. Rabies and Canine Distemper up-to-date. She is known at the shelter as The Great Ferretini - Escape Artist Extraordinaire! Very curious, friendly, and great with kids. Gets along with cats. Must be adopted with boy-pal Roscoe (see above bio). While she is cuddly and sweet with people, she does not like other ferrets (except Roscoe) and will scream like a banshee and take evasive action if "intruders" get too close. Favorite toys: stuffed animals, socks, and plastic bags. Enjoys raisins, Linatone/Ferretone, and Nutri-cal as a treat.
Please contact Karen Marsh-Lovvorn of Rogues Gallery at 596-9393, or Linda Goodwin of Guardian Angels at 362-8460, if you can adopt a shelter ferret!
TRIangle Ferret Lovers PO Box 61091 Raleigh, NC 27661-1091
This web page is maintained by Pam Sessoms. I can be reached at: pjdutche@email.unc.edu.
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