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Farewell, Yeti, our loveliest Marshmallow

It’s a very sad day in our house, and the bookending of an era, as we send off our loving, gentle boy Yeti.

Our most patient, gentle, soft sweet Yeti, Signor Pants, the Pantaloni, Bestest of Marshmallows, lived a long, good life – reaching 8+ years with us, which is quite an accomplishment for a ferret – let alone one from the streets (literally) of Pittsburgh.

Yeti and his brother Sasquatch has been found surviving with a feral cat colony in Pittsburgh, during the previous winter. Sasquatch clearly had been taking care of Yeti, who was deaf, making sure he was safe until – and after – they were rescued. While his brother had interested adopters, poor Yeti had not one and they were definitely a bonded pair – so much the better for us!

We brought the boys home on December 19, 2015, and I immediately declared that those idiots who weren’t interested in adopting my sweet Yeti because he was a deaf Dark Eyed White were absolute morons! He provided many solid hours of cuddling for the humans, which is not standard ferret behavior! Not only that, he was the paragon of patience dealing with his new sister who hated everyone who was not her brother Duncan, in stride.

Being such a calm, relaxed dude, who happened to be deaf, Yeti was a great ambassador ferret! He enjoyed going to the multitude of parades that Morgantown hosts (god we host a lot of parades). 

went to Arts Walks,

Block Parties,

the Farmers Market, the Ferret Frolic…you get the picture! He was always happy to be held by folks and have his photo taken.

Our big Marshmallow was a great traveler, preferring to sleep in his hammock as we rolled up or down the interstate until we reached our desination. He quite enjoyed his vacation Black Water Falls, where he got into the cabin’s cold, but cinder filled, fireplace rendering him mostly more grey than white!

About a year ago, Yeti, now solo, graciously accepted a tiny little white peanut named Inanna into his life. She was a lunatic, but he made sure to make her feel welcome and safe, curling up with her as she acclimated into our home.

A few months after that, he went with us to meet and pick up his troublesome baby brother Fenris. The big ol’ Pantaloni comforted the baby on his first night away from his mom and siblings as we all tried to sleep in a hotel room. Yeti was a great big brother, again making sure the newcomer felt safe.

On Wednesday, April 15, our Yeti left this world. It was his time. He’d had a long, full life, had many ferrety adventures and been a great ferret ambassador and big brother. After eight years, it was his time. We did our best by him, but it doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye. With his passing, we’ve now closed another chapter in our ferret people saga.

Godspeed, my boy. Your brother is waiting.

chris on April 15th 2020 in Animals, Family

Fenris Doombringer

It’s high time we introduce the newest member of the household. On June 15 Chad and I (and Yeti who came along for the trip) welcomed Fenris Doombringer into our family. 

This handsome little hob is from Scarlett’s Happy Dookers Ferretry in Ohio.

He is the loviest little boy. 

Super sweet, wants our attention in the most adorable way.

Fenris is very good with our old man Yeti, curious but not bothersome. And now Inanna has a playmate that can keep up with her WAY better than the humans. Now she’s the one being run ragged! He’s already outgrown her! Welcome home, little man! 

chris on June 15th 2019 in Animals, Family

Hello, Inanna!

 
A few weeks before vacation, an instant message popped up from a ferret club member wanting to know if we would be interested in a white ferret that had just come into a rescue.

We’d been thinking about bringing home a youngster, partly as a playmate for Nyx (so she’d leave poor Yeti alone) and partly because there is nothing so joyful as a young ferret running around like an idiot! 

Chad happened to be out of town but I sent him a message with her picture. He said if we could wait until after we got back from vacation he didn’t see why not.

Little Miss Inanna joined the family on May 6. Operating under the assumption that she was as big as Yeti, since she looked huge in the photos, I took along the boys dog crate to pick her up. well that was a mistake because as soon as I saw her I thought crap this is not going to work. But then again maybe it would so I tucked Inanna into the crate and off I went. 
 
Approximately five minutes later while in traffic, I caught a blur of white out of the corner of my eye on the floor of the passenger side! I hit the brakes reached down and missed! So I threw my bag in her general direction scaring the tiny ferret to the back seat.
 
 
Fortunately her next foray to the front of the car was under my seat! It took a little bit of dexterity since I was driving, but I managed to nab her without wrecking. Holding a very bouncy little ferret in my hand, I drove to a pet store and buy a much smaller carrier! 

Our timing was not great for bringing home the little one. By then we knew we were losing Sasquatch. But when the Universe offers you a ferret, you take the ferret.
 
Welcome to the chaos, wee beastie! 
 

chris on June 1st 2019 in Animals, Family

Sasquatch, Our Biggest of Boys

Dark clouds swept over our house last week as we had to send off our sweet boy Sasquatch

Our biggest of boys, Sasquatch, ‘Squatch, Squatchmo, Big Dude, Bubbies, Champagne Supernova, Squatchers, Big Squatch, came into our home December 19, 2015, along with his brother Yeti, from the Hide-E-Hole ferret shelter in Pittsburgh. (You can thank Chad for talking me into their names.) I’d always wanted a big boy ferret and he certainly fit the bill!



The boys had been found surviving with a feral cat colony in Pittsburgh, during the previous winter. Sasquatch clearly had been taking care of Yeti, who was deaf, making sure he was safe until – and after – they were rescued. When we first brought them home they would sleep curled up together in a sleepy sack. Sasquatch would always have his head out, alert for any danger. Anytime they were in an unfamiliar situation, Sasquatch would revert back to that behavior, making sure Yeti was protected.



Once they settled in, ‘Squatch demonstrated his propensity for being a low-key sorta dude. He was happy to go outside and play in the grass and check out the fish pond and waterfall. Big Dude wasn’t exactly the most graceful ferret, and more than once wound up in the pond! He might dance across the waterfall, try to step on a lily pad, despite my warnings, and plop! At least he was a proficient swimmer!



Among Squatchmo’s other outdoor hobbies was trying to steal the water irises. Not really sure what he planned on doing with them, but he would seek out a nice plump water iris, streeeetch until he could get it, and yank (if it was out in the water) or chew on it, if it wasn’t. It was ridiculous!

Like most ferrets, he was a a master digger, flinging dirt far and wide when he was able to sneak into a plant, or when presented with a box full of soil. But at the Ferret Picnic when a prize was on the line, do you think he’d dig? Of course not! Silly boy. Being patient, though, he was a great contestant in the Ferret Chariot Race! Even when I wrecked the chariot and dumped him overboard!



We very nearly lost Sasquatch in December 2017. And so we knew we were on borrowed time. I only wish we’d been able to borrow more.



Sasquatch was a happy, lovey, stunning boy who left us far too soon. He was the Big Boy I’d always hoped for and our life is richer for having had him in it. Rest in peace, my Champagne Supernova.

chris on May 15th 2019 in Animals, Family