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Hallie:

Hallie is the fourth ferret to come into our family. She arrived in June of 1997. That was the first ferret show I attended. She is also a chocolate sable. And she was only around 12 weeks old when I bought her. I bought her before Dillon, but left her with her cage mates until I was ready to leave. Even then, when awake, she wanted down to explore and play.

She'd had two of her boosters (distemper) so she didn't go to the vet's as quick as Dillon. But she's been there more often since. She has a small airway. She coughs a lot, and the vet tried a couple different antibiotics to try to get her over it. He finally put her to sleep and checked her airway, he also took some X-rays. In other words, she has asthma. The airway gets clogged with mucus and she has trouble breathing. I really think she's outgrowing it. I very seldom hear her coughing anymore.

She gets called "bubble butt" as she has a big rear end. It does seem to drag the floor sometimes. And it goes from side to side when she runs. It keeps her from doing much jumping and climbing. She's the only one that can't get into the bathtub. And she's even quite trying to get there. So it also keeps her from getting on the table and other places where she could get into trouble.

She does give kisses, but usually on or in the nose. She does like her belly rubbed, and sometimes she bites too hard when playing. As a kit she liked to bite on tender skin, as in the upper inside of your leg or arm. She also liked toes. I've used bitter apple on those places for others and myself and it seems to have stopped most of that kind of biting. I also think as she gets older, the biting is getting better.

She is aggressive. She does not care too much for the two new ones. Without someone else to start the fight, she'll usually leave them alone. But if a fight gets started, she'll get in on it. And she sticks up for the old family members, even if they're the ones that are winning. If she goes on with the fight after I've put Hamilton up, she loses. But she always goes back for more. Her and Dillon will not give up. I have to distract her or put her up to get the fighting stopped. She is strictly, this is my family and I will defend them no matter what.

She is one who loves the water. She plays in the water bowls, and when it's hot, I put water in a dishpan. She's the only one to get in it and play. She was the first one to decide she liked the shampoo that I bath her in. She tries to lick herself clean of it or else she just likes the taste of it. She has communicated this to Wendy, Dillon, and Simon. As they now do the same thing. She was also the only one at this time to use the towels to dry off some more after her bath. The others all ran under the furniture, in bags or something else handy to try to dry off. I now have at least one more that will use the towels. I have a pair of snow pants that belong to Kris that are quilted and lined, which most will use as a towel now.

She looks to me to be a cross between a whippet and bulldog ferret. She has some characteristics of both. She doesn't demand to much attention, and she will beg for treats. Her favorite is cheerios, but she does like an occasional raisin. She thinks her outside potty is behind the water heater. I keep paper down there, because there's no way for me to get back there to scrub it clean. She runs for that area clear from the living room. And that's where her cage is with litter boxes. She does usually use the litter box in the cage when they're put up, which is more than some of them will do.

She is also one that likes Totally Ferret food. The first three prefer the Iams. And she does like to eat, which is probably why she has the big belly. Neither the vet nor I have felt anything unusual, as I do check them once in awhile, especially her to make sure I don't feel and lumps, or hard spots.