Since I had decided that Tonic needed a buddy, it was off to the pet store. I had always loved the look of albino fuzzies ever since I picked out my first ferret, many years ago. When I purchased Tonic, she was the only one in the cage, so there wasn't much selection. Not that it mattered, I would've selected her anyway. :)

Flash forward to the pet store and in the display cage was a bouncing 14 wk old albino kit. I checked him over and decided he would be the perfect hyper-active addition. I handed him over to Geoff so that I could fill out some paper work and pay the bill. Oz immediately decided that he would become an earring, making the whole name game that much easier.

I had originally taken Geoff along to talk me out of getting another ferret. I knew Tonic was happy being an only child, so there wasn't any real "need" to get another ferret.. Well, despite being bitten, he encouraged me to bring Oz home. A lot of good he was!

It took quite a bit of time to get Oz nip-trained. Geoff would get him so hyped-up that I would have a time just catching him. But after several weeks, he settled down. He only nips once in a blue moon now, and that's only if you're a new human to him and you happen to have "tasty" bare skin showing (arms or legs). He's also one of those lick-lick-chomp kinda guys so you have to watch him when he starts in.. But otherwise, he's an excellent boy.

If you hold him up to your face, you're apt to get licked & quite possibly have your nose cleaned. Our cat, who is not terribly fond of ferrets, has gotten kisses a time or two from Oz. I wish I could've caught the surprised look on his face the first time Oz licked him. That would've been a priceless photo!

One of Ozzy's favorite things in the world is to be turned over on his back and be dragged across the carpet. He stretches his nose out so he can get every inch of himself rubbed. Very cute!

Oz isn't a terribly noisy fert. No dooks or hisses from this guy! If he does dook, it's a very low, quick noise that's only uttered once. However, he does love to power-sniff! It's this really loud HEHEHE sound, almost like he's laughing in a whisper.

On the 'things to steal' list are pens & pencils (no erasers folks!).. Since I was in school when we first got him, the ferrets would get into my backpack and rummage through my stuff on occasion. One night, I looked up from my studying to see Oz taking every pen out one by one. After he had finished, he came over to me and tried to take the one right out of my hand. Well, not being able to refuse that determined face, I let him take it and put it away. I guess he decided I was done studying for the night. Darn!

For treats, he mainly likes Ferretone. I put a little on all the ferrets' stomachs when I clip their nails. Ozzy must think that I put it all over his body because he busies himself trying to get every last drop for a LONG time. It's even worse now that he has a bald tummy - the 'tone slides right off, so he's busy cleaning himself, the floor, and any ferrets nearby.

He had his left adrenal out at the end of January. It's now April and he's still a hairless rat. I've even been having to lock his thug-self up during the day while I'm away to give poor Orion & Stoli's scruffs a chance to heal. I've started putting a little Rescue Remedy on his ears and then leaving him out, but he still bothers them. Sigh. Hopefully his hormones & 'tude will settle down soon. And I'd love to see that weasel with hair again!

Oz'll play with pretty much anything if it winds up on the floor.. I remember leaving a small box unattended on the futon while I was putting away the adaptor that came in it. It was roughly the size of Oz's head, so I bet you can guess where it ended up! He wore that box around on his head until he bumped into something, then he'd take it off, look around and put the box back on. That was his favorite toy for about a week!

Since he's still fairly young, I can still get him so riled up he doesn't know which way is up. However, he has mellowed some over the years.. He tolerates cuddling more and more and is always the perfect gentleman when he goes out.

When he sees the harness come out, he bolts for the door (detouring only to stop at the litter box). Going out is his absolute favorite! If you're in the car, he'll curl up on your lap and go to sleep or sit quietly and wash his face (which is one of those ultra-cute things fuzzies do).

See the pictures to have a look at the great white carpet shark.

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6.25.04

ugh.. why do these guys have so many problems?

oz-bopples had a seizure last weekend. it made me realize just how not ready i am for him to go. (insert bout of hysterics here) thankfully, it appears it was just an instance of low blood sugar and he's now back to his normal, happy, bald self. whew.

you'd think i'd be more prepared for this. oz has been adrenal for years now. he had his left gland out when he was four, and now the right is way too involved to yank. he's been on lupron since then too, but it certainly hasn't helped in the hair department... nor is it really helping with his prostate (not that it could with how ugly it is). his prostate is pretty cystic, and the only way to really get at it is through ultrasound guided surgery. he's 8.. and even though i love, love, love my vet, i still worry about surgery (at any age) with these guys. we've tried stretches of antibiotics to get at a stupid & very resistant infection, and have successfully managed to shrink his prostate some, in combination with bicalutimide. he's still peeing, still eating & is still bumbling around with his buddies. i had a moment of panic when i thought the seizure was from pain & that he was blocked... we've pretty much thrown the book at his prostate, and of course, this happened at night (1:30am sunday morning) when i couldn't rush him to my vet. *but* he can still pee, so that can go a notch down on the list of things to worry about. we're just adding things to his med regimine as we go along. poor guy. at least he's a comfortable old guy - that's the most important thing.

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7.13.04 - the sunrise was unbelievable this morning. the whole sky was glowing pink & red.. fitting for a very special boy that crossed over last night.. :(( RIP sweet boy.