ghost in the Machine
by Todd Leuthold
Sit right down and let me be your host, while I tell y’all a story about a flumpy named Ghost!
Ghost was in the paper one day, advertising for a new home. The teenage boy that was taking care of him stopped doing so. He parents didn’t really want the job, so they let him post a “home wanted” ad in the local paper.
When I went to get him, I found that this was his second home. The people that had him before had never taken him to get shots or be examined at a vet. As it turned out, he didn’t appear any worse for the lack of professional care. As best as anyone could determine, it was about 3 years old when I got him.
I found him in a cage that was much too small for a ferret of his size. They apparently allowed him out to run around, but I didn’t see any litter boxes anywhere. That might be why no one wanted to care for him. After all, if there are no litter boxes to “go” in, what other options does he have? He had no litter box in his cage, either. Instead, they put pine shavings on the bottom of the cage and that was where he did his business.
Ghost is a full-sized albino male. He was fixed (I had him checked at the
vet, of course) and descented, but none of his previous caretakers knew
this. Even though I saw no proof of a litter box, he was quite willing to
use one (he has both a square and a corner pan in his cage and uses both
equally). He is also paper-trained and only has occasional accidents.
He is addicted to Bandits Ferret Treats, but will also eat Iams cat food.
He was on Friskies when I got him. He has a love of plastic bags, tunnels,
hammocks and biting the cat. He sleeps in a “balloon” sack or
one of my old shirts.
Ghost is a very playful ferret, but doesn’t like other ferrets at
all. When he is in his cage and the other ferrets are out, they like to
harass him by sticking the tip of their nose through the wire of his cage.
He comes over and huffs and puffs and snorts and barks at them and they
just eat it up!
He also likes to play with people. If I’m laying on the couch reading
the paper, he will come up and run back and forth in front of me, trying
to get me to “catch” him and roll him over for belly rubs. He
then tosses his head back and forth and kicks his feet and wiggles all over.
He will often get on my back and walk up to my head and flop down, watching
what I’m doing.
I like to take Ghost for walks around the neighborhood. I get the leash out and he starts getting all excited. Sometimes, he doesn’t even have the patience to wait until I get the thing on him! Once outside, his little nose is constantly at work. He sniffed up a gnat the other day. He then sneezed for almost a minute until it came back out! The poor gnat couldn’t fly any more, but it was still alive! The worse it smells, the more he wants to sniff it! He also likes to “mark” any plants we find, such as grass, bushes, tiny things growing in the cracks of the sidewalk, etc. If it’s green, it gets rubbed!
One thing I really love about him is that he won’t bite people when they come up to pet him. He’s a very big ferret, but is very gentle with people. Of course, everyone that comes up gets a thorough sniffing, too!
Ghost is a wonderful, sweet, well-mannered little ferret. I can’t imagine why his previous caretakers didn’t want him. I keep saying that I’ll look for a home for him as soon as he has become “adjusted and litter trained” but still haven’t had the heart to find him another home. He’s been here a year now and I think I’ll just keep him for the duration!
Todd and the Fuzzbutt Rodeo Clowns!