Snowball

Zoo's Ferret Sanctuary has a new family member, and he has quite a story. The name that he brought with him to Cathy's is 'Snowball'. Apparently, the woman who owned him wasn't quite "well". Her mother had rented an apartment for her, and after not hearing from the daughter for awhile, went to visit. The apartment was trashed, the woman had left. All of the animals she had abandoned were dead, except the ferret....(Cathy's guess is that she must have had small animals like hamsters, or rats & mice, from what was said.) Nobody was sure how long it had been since the woman had left.

A friend of the owner's family surrendered Snowball to animal control, because the mother was afraid she would have to PAY them to take him. He is supposedly 1 1/2 yrs old, is good with people, a climber, loves ferret treats & to play, and eats dry food. That was all the information Cathy was given, except for his name.

When it was time to leave to go pick up Snowball, Cathy's elderly dog had a seizure. So, Cathy stayed with the dog, and her husband Kurt went to get Snowball. Since Kurt still had to work, Snowball got to go on an adventure by riding in Kurt's truck with him. When he came to his new home and met Cathy for the first time, she kept telling him what a good boy he is, no matter what he's been through.

And this ferret has been through a lot...he looks like a Holocaust victim, he is so terribly thin. You can actually feel EACH RIB!! He had the longest nails Cathy had ever seen on a ferret, but he didn't use them on her. His coat is a bit wiry, but fluffed out nicely after a bath, which kind of hides things, unless you pick him up.

Update: Snowball is doing well! He has gained 3.5 ounces in his first week and a half at the Sanctuary. That's a big improvement! Below is our first picture of the little cutie...with his hair clean and freshly bathed, you can't even see his ribs.