About Myself

I'm Melanee Wood. I live in South Carolina with my six ferrets at the moment (Honey, Haven, Jesse, Max, Buddy, and Rudy), my mom and dad, my brother, Michael, and other pets mentioned in this summary. My hobby is collecting Beanie Babies, TV Guide magazines, and Beanie Baby Trading Cards. I own hundred and eleven beanies at the moment. I've been collecting Beanie Babies since in the summer of '98. My first two Beanies are Doby and Dotty who I brought from St. Augustine, Florida. I basically have a bunch of favorites shows and movies.

Me with my first ferret, Honey Buns.

My Ferret Menagerie

The ferret madness started in 1996 (I think). We lived in apartment then. We went to the pet store one day to look at the puppies and kittens. Then, we came upon some ferrets. I picked up one with red ruby eyes and creamy-white fur. There were a lot in the pen (Most of them were sables). When we left the pet store, I knew that I wanted a ferret. For a long time, I never knew that they existed till I saw one.

   So, I did some research and in May '98, I got my first ferret, Honey. She was a cute six-week-old Black Sable kit when I first laid eyes on her. At the time, I didn't care on what color the ferret is, I just wanted a ferret. And Buns (that's what I call her) is the only ferret I had to litter train.

   For a few months, Honey was the only ferret in the household. I thought she maybe lonely, so in July of '98, we got Haven. She was a seven-week-old albino ferret at the time. At first, she and Honey didn't get along quite so well. So, after doing some reading and talking to their vet, those two finally learned to get along.

   In January of '99, I received Jesse as a birthday present. When we first got Jesse, he was very skinny, but he had the cutest and prettiest face of any ferret. So after a few weeks, he was gaining weight and was introduce to the girls (Honey and Haven). When he was first introduced to the girls, he would wrestle with them. They usually fought back.

    Now in March of '99, before I knew a little bit about angoras, we got Max (short for Maxamillion). He was twelve weeks old when we got him. He traveled in the car on the way home, but there was one annoying problem... he cried a lot! He would basically cry for attention (human attention) at night and in the morning. I tried putting different ferrets in the cage with him, but he still would still cry. So, I put him in the big cage with the other ferrets and he hasn't cried ever since (GOOD!!!!). 

   On June 15, 1999 (Haven's first birthday), we got Buddy. My mom was attracted to him because of his gentle temperament and cute face (he was too cute to ignore). But, we couldn't bring him home just yet because we were doing other things that day. So we had the pet store put him on hold for us until we're finished. Then, we bought him home to show the rest of the gang. So, lets just say he was Haven's birthday present.

   The next ferret, Rudy, came in July of '99. Before I got him, I did some research on the Internet. Finally, after our vacation at Myrtle Beach, my dad called Parrots of the World and got me an angora ferret. But, I had to pay my dad four hundred and sixty dollars after calling. After a few days, Rudy came by plane (it was July the fourteenth). He was a cute little red-orange ferret kit. I'd spent weeks teaching him not to bite people, especially my mom. Now, Rudy is getting a little bit better since I've worked with him.

Other Pets I Own (or Owned by...)

The first pet we've ever gotten was a cat named Roger (the bandit). He's a Manx tabby cat. He now lives with Grandma Wood. He has a buddy named Zoë. At first him and Zoë didn't get along so well, but now they do.

   When we moved from Falls Church, Virginia to Greenville, South Carolina, my brother and I got two hamsters named Lady and Frisky. They mated and raised ten baby hamsters (it was originally twelve, but two died). I kept one and named her Becky. She raised a litter of fourteen (originally fifteen). Then, I kept a cream colored one with black eyes and named her Teddy. Three hamsters (Lady, Frisky, and Becky) died a year ago, and Teddy got lose somewhere. Now we have a very feisty pet hamster (fuzzy beast) named Fuzzy (I call him Fuzzy Face and Fuzz Face). Sadly, Fuzzy died Thursday May 4th. He will be gratefully missed even though he wasn't a friendly hamster to begin with.

    Then in December of '97, I got a gray and white rat, which I named Alex (short for Alexandra). She recently died couple of weeks ago. Before she died, we got her a playmate named Ducky. Ducky passed away this year and will be greatly missed. I now own three rats--Lillian, Jules, and Splash. Lillian is my agouti hooded, Jules is an albino, and Splash is my hairless rat. Can you believe it! A hairless rat! After Ducky passed away, we got a Himalayan dumbo female named Louise. Louise was very friendly, but also sick (and pregnant). After Louise had her babies, they all died, even her. Louise was a pretty thing.

    Then, before the hamsters died, we got two parakeets (message senders) named Joe and Kitty. My brother picked Kitty (the yellow one) and I picked Joe (the green and yellow one). Kitty died first in '98 and later, Joe died. Before died, we got a blue and yellow parakeet named Kitty the II. And after he died, we got a blue and white one named JoJo. My ferrets, when they play in my mom and dad's bedroom occasionally, enjoy climbing on their cage (especially Little Honey Buns).

My First Ferret Show

    This is about my first experience ferret show. I went to a show in September the eighteenth and boy, was it ever fun! Well, here it goes...

    On July 14, 1999, I sent e-mail to the Western Carolina Ferret Association for an entry form. I was happy that I can  finally  go to a ferret show. A while back, I filled out an entry form for a show in Pennsylvania, but couldn't go because it was such a long drive. And on that same day, I got my angora ferret named Rudy.

     On July 28, 1999, I got the entry form by e-mail. But, then I have to wait because I received it on my dad lap-top computer and it needed to printed out. So, I waited until he came home to hook up the printer (we have two) and we can print it out. And the next day, I filled out the entry form. I decided to enter Honey in the Black Sable class, Haven in the albino, and Buddy in the Mitt class. Now I have everything all set, except for one thing, supplies.

     On July 30, 1999, when we went to the vet, we got them to print out the health certificates because they are required at the show (or any other show for that matter). I found a pet-friendly motel in Hickory, which is next to Lenoir (where we're going to). It's called the Red Roof Inn. A couple of weeks after that, we got a large enough crate for the ferrets to travel in. And before the ferret show (it was Friday the 17th then), we went to the new pet store, The World of Pets, for some ferretone, a box of treats, and a carton of food for the trip.

    When we got home, I took all the ferrets out, and bathed the three that are going to the show. My ferrets had, at least, three hours (it's the longest time playtime my ferrets had ever had). Then, the three I wasn't going to show, back in their cage. Now, when dad came home, I put Honey, Haven, and Buddy in the crate my mom and I bought. Next, we went over to a car-rental place to rent a van. And finally, we hit the road.

     But, then we stopped for something to eat. The, we spent the two hours on the road. Finally, we arrived to the motel that we were staying in. The next morning, the day of the show, I clean my ferrets' ears and brushed their coats. After everyone was ready to go, we returned the keys to the office, and went on our way. When we got to Lenoir, we basically followed the signs to the show.

    Now that we were here, we got ourselves check in and got our table set up. After that, I went to look at the products and ferrets that were for sale. I was amazed at all the products for ferrets that were for sale. There were cages, hammocks, sleep sacks, T-shirts, food, harnesses, leashes, and so on. Then, we (my mom and I) went to a seminar that talked about showing ferrets. And after that, the kissing contest began. Haven won fourth place, but she did pretty well for her first show.

    After the kissing contest, the rings began. The first rings were the Sable (1), Marshall Farms (or Companion), and Chocolate (I think). Later on, the can-tipping contest was resumed. Haven got second place in it. Not that bad, eh? Next was the Albino class. Haven ended up winning fourth place, which was pretty good. Then, Black Sable started. Honey won second place! She was beat by half a point, but that's okay. The last class (for us any way) was the Mitt. Buddy came in fifth place. Honey also won an incredible first place in the Tube Race, and we even got the tube!

    We've also met other ferret owners, saw some breeders who were showing their ferrets as well as selling some kits. We also got some items at a raffle. We bought a T-shirt, a ferret clothes pin, 3 of food, a harness and leash, and so on. We didn't get another ferret at the show because there wasn't any color I was interested in. After we got home, I put the ribbons on the fireplace. The ribbons will be in the plaques soon. I can't wait until next year when I'll be showing the rest of the ferrets I didn't show yet.

The Newest Members of The Kingdom of Mischief

New Ferret #1: These thumbnails above are of my newest ferret, Snowy. She's a dark-eyed white female with a light gray strike down her back. Her story begins on Saturday, December the 18th (she was an early Christmas present). We looked at ferrets at the World of Pets, and we couldn't find a champagne or DEW female. I thought I found a champagne over there and that little girl wasn't. She was actually a cross between a champagne and a chocolate (and the pet store told us she's a sable). So after we (my mom and I) dropped off my brother at home, we went to Pet Land to look. When we looked in the pen, there were a bunch of males and probably one female. I thought I could never find what I was looking for until I saw her. She was all by herself in a small cage. Mom asked if I want to look at her, and I said okay. So I pick her and found out that she's a girl (What I always wanted!). And she was sold!

New Ferret #2: Now these thumbnails above are my newest and last ferret, Rosie. She's a black sable mitt female. Her story begins on Saturday, February 5th. My mom and I looked at the ferrets over at PetLand, but there was one male, a chocolate/light cinnamon mix I may add. So we went to look at the ferrets at the World of Pets. And when we got there, I found 2 boys (a sable and albino) and one girl (black sable mitt!). I pick her up to see if she was a girl. And she was! Mom then asked one of the workers to see what the price of the ferret is. She said the amount of the ferret and food, and Mom asked me did I want her. And I said yes. And she was sold!

New Ferret #3: coming soon, a new ferret--a cinnamon. :) She will be here next month, I hope. She's still at the breeders right now since she's four weeks old already. I already came up with a name for her--Ginger.

If you have questions, a ferret related link, whatever, you can e-mail me. Click on the button that says "E-Mail". If you want to sign my guestbook, click on the button that says "Sign My Guestbook."