This is the story of how the Extreme Weezils came to be. We follow along from the beginning, where Bear and Bandit steal our hearts in a pet store window ...

It was a fateful Friday afternoon, May 2000, when we were galvanized into action to become owned by ferrets. Although our vague notions of considering the ups and downs of having a ferret in our lives were considered, we both felt it was almost an inevitable calling to be ferret parents... We have always been thrilled with Dusty and Pepper, now eight year old sisters adopted in kittenhood from a freezing cold barn, where they were spotted alone in a wire cage, huddling together for warmth and companionship. Read more about our Extreme Kitteez on their own pages.

My husband had been gazing at a handful of ferret kits, between six and eight weeks old, through the local pet store window for a couple of weeks prior to our venture. So, heading north on the highway, we silently traversed through time and space between 'without ferrets' and 'with ferrets.' The excitement, wonder, and worry of possibly, well ... probably bringing home new family members was mildly intoxicating. Good thing my husband was driving!

It seemed like hours that we both stood at that pet store window, peering into the seemingly private lives of four little ferret kits. I silently reviewed what I knew about ferrets already, and was both dismayed and dismissible at the glaring lack thereof. How hard could they be, right? They look easy enough to handle, right? WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. If someone told me now that they had never done any research about ferrets as pets and were going to pick up a couple for some easy companionship, I would have a nice, long talk with them in hopes of slapping reality hard and fast into their brains about what it takes to have ferrets in your life!

I digress. Back to the pet store window. Four ferret babies were looking as cute as I have ever seen a mammal look; two were playing with each other nonstop. Those two came home with us, and in a matter of hours were named Bandit and Bear, the first two of our Extreme Weezils...

Along with the two perfect baby ferrets, we purchased an enormous cage, litter, food, etc. [see Ferret Basics] and set it up in the dining room. Bandit and Bear were so tiny that they could hardly walk, moving along the carpeted floor miraculously using all four legs and sheer willpower. These little fur covered angels were so small that they would chase each other beneath the baseboard heating ducts, between the floor and the bottom of the base unit! Little did we know that soon they would be steady on their feet and more curious, mobile, quick, and intelligent than we had ever imagined.

Three weeks later, the first installment of Ferret Math hit. My husband was concerned that with only two ferrets, Bandit and Bear, one will be sleeping while the other is playing, etc. I compromised: we could get another ferret if HE went ALONE to the store to get ferret supplies, and if there was a special ferret there waiting for us, then he could bring that ferret home [I was already sure that I was dangerous in pet stores, wanting to take at least two or more fuzzies of any kind home at this point] ... and then there was Blitz.

Blitz was a mere two weeks younger than his new brothers. Bandit and Bear had already spent countless hours honing their Weezil Wrestling skills: Bandit using his girth to gain the upper hand [paw] while Bear demonstrates incredible stamina during long play sessions, virtually wearing Bandit out and 'winning' by default. Poor Blitzy was smaller than even little Bear AND was the new ferret in town, and he wasn't nearly as interested in Weezil Wrestling as his two brothers were!

Days and weeks gave way to months [see Ferret Chronicles]

Introducing a new ferret(s) to an already established fuzzy family...

From what I have read, I understand that we were very fortunate that all six of our ferrets got along wonderfully and instantly. The initial meeting between Blitz and Bear and Bandit was the first test, then introducing Raven to Sasha and Basil at the ferret shelter, and finally the introduction of all six to each group of three to make up the now complete Extreme Weezils. Read about our addition of Sasha, Basil, and little Raven Maven as follows:

Basil, Sasha, and Raven were adopted on the same day from the same shelter. Basil and Sasha had been cagemates at their first home since Sasha was a baby and Basil was a few months old. Raven was about eight weeks old when she was turned in to the local shelter, apparently abandoned ... These "unwanted" babies have blessed us with their presence in our lives. We cannot imagine life without them, and neither can their three Brothers, which whom they sleep, play, eat, and share everything with.... including their fondness for my husband and myself and fascination with our kitties.

Our Little Men, Bandit, Bear & Blitz, had already given us eight months of ferrety bliss ... from the day we purchased them at a local pet store - eight weeks old [Marshall Farms] - to the present, we have laughed, loved, and learned together. My husband and I had been talking about adding to our ferrety family by adopting a couple of shelter ferrets, preferably girls. Saturday, November 4, 2000 : James and I went to the Best Little Rabbit, Rodent, & Ferret House [shelter] in Seattle, WA for our first live visit. We visited their web site numerous times to see who was up for adoption and other details as well as phoning for even more information. It was very easy to find, and within minutes of leaving our front door we changed our lives forever ...

Being in that shelter changed me forever. I saw all these furry little animals, from ferrets to bunnies to rats, who didn't ask to be there but were throwaways from careless humans. My heart broke over and over again as I read each animals brief description and, like so many times before, felt ashamed to be human. Vowing to try to change at least a couple of fuzzy lives for the better, we concentrated our focus on the ferret area, gazing at all the ferts that needed a good home and someone to love them [I always get choked up thinking about this whole thing, or as Mike Myers would say,verklempt .... ]

We already knew that we wanted two girls under a year old to compliment the three boys waiting at home. I knew that if we did not have at least a couple of specific parameters to guide our adoption choices, we would agonize over who to choose... Only one little girl had the characteristics we were looking for, and she was surrendered with a cagemate, a boy just over a year old. After much discussion, we decided that for the time being, we would take her and her cagemate, despite our full intention to bring home two girls ...

Wednesday we drove back to Seattle as expectant parents of two beautiful ferrets. Sasha [one month younger than Our Little Mens] and Basil [about 1&1/2 years old] were surrendered together in October and remained cagemates at the shelter. The reasons the previous owners gave for giving them up were lame [of course,] Sasha was a "thief" and they "just did not have the time" for Basil. At least we benefit, as well as the fuzzies...

The day we drove to Seattle to pick up our new kids brought more happiness than we expected. Knowing we were still on the lookout for another girl, Sandi [the shelter mom] asked us if we were interested in an abandoned kit brought in a week earlier. Sandi returned from the back room with a gorgeous all - black kit, found abandoned in a local parking lot. Raven [originally known as Candy, but renamed on the drive home as she is almost all black] was between eight and twelve weeks old and full of life. Of course Sandi initially introduced her to Sasha and Basil to make sure there were no real issues between the three, and with amazing speed they sniffed and accepted each other, then began to happily play together, all three! Sandi, myself, and even James had tears in our eyes to see such happiness in three "throwaways" and in the knowledge that they will have a wonderful, caring home for the rest of their lives.