[Introduction written 5/19/02]

Trouble Too is a very dear, special ferret to me. As is the case with most of my ferrets, she came to me as a shelter rescue. I received a call from a couple who lived in a rented apartment, and they needed to surrender their ferret immediately. They apparently had numerous animals, and their landlord found out about them and insisted the animals go. I agreed to go pick up the ferret that day.

When I arrived, it had just begun to rain. I knocked on the door, and a man called down that he would bring the ferret down. I was never invited inside, instead I waited outside in the rain. The couple came out - a pair that looked like they had just stepped out of the sixties. Now, I try not to be one to stereotype, or else I would have pegged the pair to be heavy drug users; however, the fragrant aroma that wafted from them allows me to draw conclusions without stereotyping. They came down from the 2nd story apartment with a very large, very filthy cage, and a tiny little sable ferret. The tiny little thing looked up at me with huge, wide eyes. I picked her up, and shielded her from the rain that was falling on us, and she clung onto me for dear life.

I asked the owners for a little bit of information about the ferret. I was told that her name was Trouble, she was three years old, and that they had purchased her from Zimmer's Pet Store in Gilbertsville--which, coincidentally was a block down the street from where I lived at the time. This also raised a red flag in my mind - I knew that Zimmers only sold whole ferrets - those who had not yet been fixed. I asked the owners if they had gotten her spayed, and they said no. I asked if they had ever bred her, again, they said no. To this day I don't know how that little girl survived so long - female ferrets must be spayed or bred, or they can die. She was not in heat when I picked her up, but I knew that I would have to get her spayed.

The coincidence of Trouble having come from Zimmers stemmed not only from the close location to where I lived, however. The first moment I laid eyes on her, I felt like I had been looking at another ferret I knew. She was the spitting image of my Sallie, and Sallie had also been a Zimmer's ferret. Now, I realize that sable ferrets all kind of look alike, but there were so many similarities--not just physical, but also in behavior as I would soon discover. I had been aware that there was a "backyard breeder" somewhere in the area of Gilbertsville, who sold quite a few litters of ferrets to Zimmers (thus the reason they are one of the only pet stores anywhere that sell whole ferrets). This breeder was the primary source of ferrets that Zimmer's sold. The more I thought about it, the likelihood that my Sallie and this new ferret were related just became more and more possible. I will never know for sure, but I truly do believe that they are very closely related.

If you've read Sallie's story yet, you know that I nearly lost her as a result of medical complications after her spay. Sallie is also a very special ferret of mine, and I often have wondered what ever happened to the litter of babies she had, and wished that I'd had one of her babies. Here I now had a ferret that may have been Sallie's sister, or some other direct relation, and for that reason alone, I couldn't imagine not keeping Trouble. But also because of the complications that arose from Sallie's spay, I was terrified to adopt Trouble out - call me paranoid. So, Trouble Too came home with me to stay.

It didn't take long to realize that Trouble had some problems. This ferret was terrified of everything. In a word, I would call it paranoia. I mentioned that I had good reason to suspect that the previous owners were drug users, but after watching Trouble's behavior for a few weeks, I also was quite positive that the drug use affected this poor little girl. I don't know of course if she was given drugs or alcohol directly, but somehow, I believe she was affected. My heart broke for my sweet little girl. She would cower in corners, dart away if someone walked near her; when I picked her up she would cling onto me as though I were going to hurt her. I spent a lot of time with Trouble teaching her kindness and love, and as a result, she bonded to me in a way that only a very few others ever have. I was able to integrate her into the Boo's Buddies group, but unlike all of the other ferrets in that group, she still remained bonded to me even though she was a part of a larger group. She is now a completely well-adjusted, very playful, very happy little girl. I adore her!

She gets along wonderfully with her cagemates, but the one ferret I always see her curled up in the hammocks with is Corky, I think that's so cute because they are almost twins. Since coming to live with me, Trouble has gained a good deal of healthy weight, and grown in a long, lush coat; she doesn't resemble Sallie as much anymore as she does Corky. Trouble and Corky are both very beautiful girls, but Trouble hasn't been in the show scene too much, due to a tail defect - she has a completely "L" shaped tail, probably caused either by it being chewn by her mother when she was a baby, or from being slammed in a door at some point.

The photograph at the top of this page was the first professional photo I ever had taken of Trouble Too. That photo was taken the same day that Corky's "famous" picture was taken - her shot (at the top of Corky's page) is the perfect pose, a terrific shot. Trouble was trying to show me that she's as beautiful as Corky, and that she, too, can take just as good of a picture as her friend... she got the pose almost right... sort of.... ! Such a silly girl. Even though she was probably really trying to look pretty, that picture really does Trouble justice!