Nomadic Life with Pets

I know it has been awhile since our last update and for that I am sorry. Things don't always go as planned but most of the time it has been surprisingly happy mishaps.

Since the last post we have traveled to Kentucky back to PA and then to Ohio and landed back in Kentucky for a bit. After the last day of work in Eau Claire, PA the crew and I headed to Kentucky to see my friend C. It was nice to see him and just catch up with him.

C has rats named Fred and George so there was some trepidation about the cats being inside the house but after a close call in the van, the cats were slowly introduced to Fred and George and there was no issues at all.

Nope I didn't hold them as chisel teeth and I don't mix well. Fred is the darker one. They are cute and make C smile.

After two weeks I made the trek back to PA to pick up some mail and spent the month hanging out at the local park in Grove City and boondocking between Wal*Mart and the TA. Boondocking is dry camping in a parking lot. Wal*Mart allows you one night in their parking lot and then you have to be gone for 24 hrs before you can do it again. The TA is a truck stop so overnighters are normal there.

The park was great because at the front of the park was a pavilion that had free wifi so I was able to stay in touch with friends and family...at least until my computer decided it was going to have some problems staying on. Typing on a smart phone can be difficult as the keyboard is small and even with my small hands I often hit the wrong button.

At the back of the park away from the crowds was pavilions that had outlets so I was able to do my sewing and stock up my inventory of ferret clothing and other items to sell. So my day was get up and go to the park after feeding and watering the crew and if I had enough change I'd get a coffee from Sheetz for a $1.00.

Believe me rewards cards are great. Once you get ten cups of coffee or soda you get a free one from Sheetz along with three cents off of gas.

Spend an hour online checking emails and conversing on Face Book, occasionally updating my GoFundMe campaign then to the back of the park where I would set up the playpen for Marcuz and Marylin inside the pavilion  
 and at first the cats would go in their crate since they had the run of the van at night. But after I started getting them use to being on leashes I was able to make a small run from the pavilion to the van, which Boyd thought was great as he prefers to hang out in the van and come out on his own terms. Dood on the other hand thinks he is a dog and will run back and forth while learning some tricks for a treat.

                              Boyd has the white paws. Hanging out in Wal*Mart's parking lot.

Don't let anyone ever tell you that this life is glamorous it has it's moments but there are days when everything just goes wrong and I had one of those days. It was a tuesday and nothing went right from the computer shutting off seconds after it loaded up, the phone acting up, it raining so badly that I couldn't sew, ate half cooked zucchini since I couldn't keep my fire going long enough to get the water to stay boiling. Boondocked at Wal*Mart routine was to walk the ferrets, then Dood, and lastly Boyd. I put my phone, keys down on the floor board just inside the door and took Boyd out closed the door and we went for our walk. once back at the van Dood came over and locked the door. Yep he stepped on the lock, normally he unlocks the door. I tried to get him to come back and unlock the door to no avail. 

The driver's side door wasn't closed all the way but I had nothing long enough to hit the button to unlock the door. Two girls came and tried to get the door open as well. At one point I must have leaned just enough on the door to shut it the rest of the way. The stress of the day came to a head at that moment as the frustration welled out and the tears flowed down my face.

Those two girls stayed helping me find a way to open the van at one point one of them went and found two guys and a girl in jacked up truck. It was them that got the van opened using a fence post and an antenna to hit the button. Needless to say that one set of keys is always attached to my hip now so that will never happen again.

Then thanks to the generosity of two very awesome ladies I was able to go to the Ferret Buckeye Bash, which is considered the largest ferret show on the east coast, as a vendor. These same two ladies made sure I had a place to stay for two nights and the crew loved being in a hotel room with Craig who Boyd decided to adopt as his human for the time period. 

My table at the Ferret Buckeye Bash.

I had a lot of fun again and got to meet Travis Livieri in person. I interviewed him via email back in 2009 regarding the Black-Footed Ferret when I first started this blog.

After the Bash the crew and I have landed once more in Kentucky at C's and the crew got a vacation from us as we went camping, a neighbor pet sat for us. The trip was suppose to be for two nights but rain dropped it to one night.

We were going to hike a trail that was 13 miles one way but after hacking for 4 hours to make it only 2.5 miles and not being able to see the trail markers we returned to camp. Which was a good thing for me as my feet were covered in what are called seed ticks. These things look like strawberry seeds and are tenacious about hanging on. Thankfully C had a scrapper and knew what I needed to do to get rid of them. Only problem I've had is that my psoriasis has flared so badly that is has shown up on my legs which it has never done before but at the same time I am wondering if maybe I brushed up against some poison ivy and when I took my shower I spread the oils. Either way I am scratching badly.

So that is where we are at now. I am running low on ferret food and at the moment no one is buying anything on the auction site that I have some items listed on. We also need some gas money so we can get headed west to Oklahoma where I am hoping to meet up with my dad for a bit and help him out somehow on the apartments he owns there. I owe him a lot since he did buy me the van so I would at least have a roof over our heads.

The plan after that is to head towards AZ where I plan to find a place for the crew and I to land, but as I said plans can change quickly in the nomadic life.


Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo and the Crew

New Adventures Await

For those that follow us on Facebook you already know what adventure I am talking about but for those that don’t know. As of June 30th the kids and I will be Home Free.

We will be living a non traditional life as nomads in a van until I am able to get us back into a non moving home if that should be the case. I should say that I am not one to do much of anything traditionally but this is even new for me.

The van or Ferret Chariot 2 is pretty much outfitted for travel and pets it seems as all of the normal places a pet might try to hide has been closed off. 

So I will be putting into long term use the knowledge I have gained over the years of traveling to Blog Paws and who knows maybe this will add a different dimension to the blog.

I do know that Marcuz and Marylin will be updating their travel blog on Facebook more often now.

If you would like to donate towards us either getting a solid home or just some gas money you can do it one of two ways. You can donate using the donation button here on the blog or you can donate through the Go Fund Campaign.

I have a week of work coming up and then we will be headed to Kentucky to see a friend or two before heading towards D.C. Want us to stop and see you leave a comment below. Sorry we can’t come to California.

Jo

Marcuz’s Grand Adventure: AKA Heart Stopping Fear

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows and one very prolonged heart attack. I cannot stress the need for ferret proofing and being observant of your environment. Yesterday was Monday and I had to get up early to go to job training down in Butler, Pa.

That meant I had to get up at 6am to get everyone feed, watered, and rotated. Now the room where Boyd the cat normally resides is being remodeled along with the roof being done on that side so he and I are residing in the ferret’s room.

During the day, the ferrets are out of their cage and at night, Boyd gets out of his crate to roam the hallway and the room. Boyd has a bad habit. He scratches at the window screen and nothing has stopped him from doing it. What I didn’t realize was that he had actually put a hole in the screen, which wouldn’t had been a problem if I had seen it before I left for my training that lasted from 8am to 5pm

I get home around 5:30pm and go upstairs to get out of my jeans and take my knee brace off entering the room I noticed that several things are out of place on the windowsill and then I see the six-inch long hole. Panic sets in and I start looking for my fur kids. Sleeping in a bin is Manny and Marylin.

As you can see from the pictures, I tore the room apart looking for Marcuz.

Looking out the window cold fear starts to develop as I realize that Marcuz had to have gone through the hole and out onto the roof. Racing down the stairs, I grab Manny’s harness and a leash speeding through the living room roomie asks what is wrong but the lump in my throat won’t let me speak so I just wave her off.

Stopping on the porch, I peer around the corner afraid to find a tiny broken body. There is none so the cold fear starts to receded and the panic starts to take over again. I can’t call for Marcuz as he is deaf and wouldn’t hear me. After checking around the outside of the house I go back in and get my voice to work long enough to tell Roomie that Marcuz has to be outside somewhere.

To which she tells me that Mr.. Z had been going ballistic earlier in the day and she thought someone had been knocking at the door but when she checked there was no one there but Mr.. Z laid on the floor and stared outside. Roomie thought it might have been the stray cat that comes around or the dog from across the street.

Back upstairs to make sure I hadn’t over looked one of Marcuz’s hidey-holes. I hadn’t so back down the stairs and Mr.. Z and roomie are outside checking out things. Mr.. Z seems to be on the trail of something but what it was unknown and didn’t seem to be Marcuz. Thankfully, our neighbors are good and they put their own dogs inside or in the dog’s kennel.

This weekend was the community day yard sale and I hadn’t gotten all the boxes back inside so before getting off the porch for the third or fourth time I shook each box in hopes of noticing a weight difference or having Marcuz pop out of one.

Around the block, checking the tree Marcuz loves to dig at when we go for cool evening walks to the back yard where the Ferret Chariot is parked. Roomie says to check under the garage. It is kind of dark under there so I start to go inside to get the flashlight when I hear something on the porch. I stop and look to where the sound is coming from and from behind the board leaning against the wide railing comes this grayish pink nose.

Marcuz’ white first is dusky grey and he smells of dirt but he is perfectly fine. Did he drop from the roof to the ground? Or did he get down to the gutter and follow it around to where the plastic was stapled to the roof and used it as a rope to get down? Or did he somehow figure out how to go down the ladder? I have no answers but there is not a mark on Marcuz.

I am sure that my neighbors finally have proof that I am the crazy ferret lady after this adventure. Taking Marcuz back up to the room I secured the window and took his access to it away before letting him loose and what does the little booger do? He starts weasel war dancing around the room with this look of pure delight.

My nerves are still shot and my chest hurts from where my heart was pounding on it but thankfully, Marcuz has been found uninjured and unfazed.

Moral of the story: ALWAYS CHECK! Ferret proofing isn’t a onetime thing and needs to be constantly updated.

Have a Safe and Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Year in Review: 2012

I am sitting here wrapped up in a cozy blanket with three ferrets playing hide and attack the toes making me giggle and squeal, as they get a little rough. Boyd the cat is sitting in the window looking at the snow falling while he is safely away from those needle teeth.

This year has had a lot of up and downs for us.

In January, Manny turned two and while the twitter pawty had several hitches, it was still a fun pawty and it lasted a lot longer than planned.

February brought home the fact that ferrets can injure themselves easily when Marcuz did something to his back and it took us five days to get to the vet because of no vehicle.

Marcus was lucky that he only had some swelling and what looked to be a narrowing of space between two disks that was later ruled as normal for his back.

Because of this incident, the challenge to get a vehicle was achieved by the gracious donations made by so many that follow both this blog and us on twitter.

Thus the Ferret Chariot  became a reality in May and its maiden voyage happened in June when we all loaded up with Doreen from Doggies and Stuff  and took the ultimate road trip to Salt Lake City, UT to attend Blog Paws

Blog Paws was Great as usual and thanks to Michelle Maskaly making me do a tout that I laughed about doing several times before it could be posted. I felt comfortable enough to do a radio interview with Steve Dale show #389 which led to other interviews that I would have never done otherwise.

August saw the addition of Marylin   to the Enlightened Ferret family.

September we loaded up the Ferret Chariot and drove across the state of Pennsylvania to participate in the Berks County 35th Annual walk for the Animals  and help out Boris Kitty’s  human 2 and Edgar support a great place.

We also went to the local pet fest and participated in the pet parade along with educating many people about ferrets.

October, November, and December saw us less online as I had a lot of orders come in for unique ferret costumes.

While we say goodbye to 2012 we are looking forward to the adventures 2013 has planned for us.

Have a Chittering New Year’s Eve Day,

Jo

Wordless Wednesday: Walk for the Animals

Photo taken by our friend Kelly Hoffman better known as H2 to Boris Kitty after the walk.

In the back is Manny getting ready to take a name. Marcuz getting a bite to eat. Then Stylin Edgar and Cousin Chester (Black Footed Ferret) and little Marylin all in the back of the Ferret Chariot.

To see more pictures of the Walk for the Animals click on the above picture to go to Kelly’s site

Have a Chittering Good Black Footed Ferret Day,

Jo

35th Annual Walk for the Animals: Now with Ferrets

We all had a blast at the 35^th annual walk for the animals event in Reading, PA. It was a nice road trip from western PA to the east side of the state.

Friday evening the ferret chariot was loaded up with Manny, Marcuz, and Marylin in their mini chariot on the front seat Sleeping bag and a heavy blanket for me. Since I planned to stop and get some rest before continuing on to First Energy Stadium. I really don’t like driving at night but this event was worth it as I was going to meet up with Kelly Hoffman who is owned by Boris Kitty and is a volunteer check out some of her pictures.

After driving for four hours, we stopped at a rest stop on Interstate 80 and set the alarm for 6 am. To give us plenty of time to get there I am really glad I did. After getting off 80 and onto 81 to 309 the directions didn’t make a lot of sense and I never did find the route but I looked at the map I always keep in the chariot and found a more direct way to hwy 61. We made it with time to spare.

We watched them set up and just kind of wandered around looking for the registration table that was on the opposite side of where we had parked. I got a cool shirt and the kids started getting the attention they always seem to draw.

Most of the dog owners were worried about how their dog would react to them but most of them took a sniff and that was all they wanted to do with them. I did feel bad for the K9 that wanted to meet them but his dad told him no. He kept whining even when told no and to hush.

This walk was the 5^th year that the Berks County Human Society raised over 100 thousand dollars. We were not the only strange pet to participate in the walk the other one was a pet skunk. But unlike my ferrets, which are leashed trained, the skunk was carried.

Little Marylin wore herself out before the walk even began so she slept in their backpack   while Marcuz made it almost half a block before demanding that he get in the backpack with his sister.

Manny would walk for a ways then stop and look at me to pick him up and carry him for a bit before he demanded to be put back down to walk some more.

We were the last to complete the walk but it was worth the time as we talked to people and corrected misinformation that still surrounds ferrets. Even other ferret owners may have the wrong information as we found out on Saturday as one of the volunteers informed us that ferrets are related to the cat family. They were told this by the person selling them their ferret. I believe the person believed this to be true because of the feline like teeth ferrets have.

Ferrets belong to the Mustelidae family that includes weasels, minks, and otters.

We left before the event wound down to the last few people in hopes to get home before dark. Only I got lost not once but twice as the signs were not very clear at some of the intersections. Once it got dark, I pushed myself to get home but between the high winds and the rain. I made the decision to pull over at a rest stop and sleep until morning, which, I am glad I did, as there was a power outage during the night that lasted for four hours. When we got home, the ferrets were glad to be in their room and bounced all over the place and I was still a bit tired and took a nap.

The only bad part of the trip is the cold I picked up along the way. However, even if I knew I would get sick I would have gone to this event and we will be there again next year.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Ferret Chariot Maintenance

Since we have been tweeting pictures of the Ferret Chariot as it gets it make over we have been asked how others can get their names added and so here is a chance to be added.

 
In PA a yearly inspection is required to make sure a vehicle is safe to be on the road. The Ferret Chariot’s inspection is due in September and it will need to have some things done so it will pass.

Once again there is a chip In for the Ferret Chariot and a way to become a part of something bigger. This time there are only a few spaces due to the panel size I will be putting the Ferret Chariot Maintenance Crew.

These are the  Levels to be added to the list of Maintenance donors
Parts Store (30) Donations of $5
Lube Shop (24) Donations of $10
Glass Worker (20) Donations of $20
Backyard Mechanic (15) Donations of $30
Grease Monkey (10) Donations of $40
Mechanic (4) Donations of $50
Head Mechanic (1) Donation of $250
Shop Owner (1) Donation of $500 or above

Remember Chip In charges a shipping fee of $4.50 if you wish to avoid this fee please use PayPal and the payment addy is planestraveler@gmail.com and be sure to mark it as a gift otherwise PayPal will take out a fee.
Our goal amount is 1500 and as each level is filled we will be reducing the numbers to reflect the number of donors.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Ferret Fashion Show

I don’t know how many of you know that I design ferret clothing for my boys and for other ferrets. To date I have made everyday shirts, tuxedos, dresses, and even designed military BDU’s better known as fatigues.

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I’ve been marketing these on Etsy and been auctioning several different outfits off on Fabulous Ferret Finds Auction page on Facebook. Which has begun to earn me a little money but thanks to this endeavor, I have come to the attention of several different outlets.

One of these outlets is hooked on the idea of a Ferret Fashion Show. I would love to help a shelter or rescue by creating several fashions that would be shown off by the shelter ferrets and then could be auctioned off with all the proceeds going to the shelter.

I am just not sure where to start other than asking first off what do you think of this idea?

2. Would this be something you would be interested in doing?

3. While I am thinking Western PA because it is close to where I live, other places would be fine too.

I would have Manny and Marcuz as part of the show and they would show up in the Ferret Chariot   along with some other surprises.

If this is something you would like to be a part of. Please contact me either by the comment box or slide me an email at enlightenedferret@hotmail.com

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Blog Paws 2012

 

Wow I can’t believe that it’s been here and gone already. So many great things happened and are still happening for Enlightened Ferret.

First traveling with the boys in the Ferret Chariot was a grand adventure. We ended up on the wrong route but Doreen from Doggies and Stuff and I enjoyed our adventure.

One of the most breath taking views was going over the Rockies on Hwy 40.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we stopped at a rest stop only to find we were at the point of the Continental Divide.

Once at the hotel Manny was quick to check out the pillows

 

 

 

 

 

We got to see Tilman on his skate board

 

 

 

 

 

I also got to meet Steve Dale who writes a column for the Chicago Tribune and gave me a wonderful opportunity that I will tell you about later. 

We were also a finalist for the Nose to Nose awards and I made the boys tuxs for our walk down the red carpet. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of them but I am sure they will show up on other blogs, twitter, and/or Face book.  We also didn’t win but that is alright as we had a blast being there.

As always I learned a lot from Blog Paws and I am still processing everything.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Traveling with Ferrets

In a few weeks the boys and I will be headed out west to Utah and the annual Blog Paws Conference. This will be my 3^rd Blog Paws and the boy’s second one. We will be driving almost two thousand miles as ferrets aren’t allowed in the cabin of any airlines and I will not put my boys in cargo.

Which is why we are driving and thanks to a lot of help from some awesome folks on twitter we will be traveling in style. The Ferret Chariot will be set up for traveling with ferrets not a small task in itself.

Because ferrets are curious little critters you can’t let them run free in a vehicle as they will find a way under the dash and find the one hole they can get through and will either end up in the engine compartment or worse on the road in the middle of traffic.

So the first thing you need is a crate or carrier for the ferret. The size depends on how much traveling you will be doing with your ferret. As I tend to take my boys as many places as I can and often that includes long distance trips I have a medium dog carrier that I use. It is big enough to hold a small litter pan, their hammock, and the door supports their food dish and water bottle. I also put a dollar store rug on the bottom of the carrier to give them something to curl up on if they don’t want in the hammock.

I seat belt the carrier so that the door of the carrier is pointing towards the vehicle door for easy access. In the case of the van the carrier will be pointing forward on the long bench seat.

Packing for the boys Mind you their suitcase can be bigger than mine depending on how long of a trip it will be. Short day trips only require a bottle of water, their harnesses and leashes, poop bags, and maybe a couple of treats.

For this cross country trip the requirements are a bit different.

Leashes	Harnesses	Puppy Pads
poop bags	food	A gallon Jug of water from home
A few toys	playpen	Health Certificates
Rabies tags	Groom kit	First aid kit
Information kit	Treats	Hand Sanitizer
Trash bags	litter	disposable foil baking dish
food/water dishes	Photo Id’s	List of Ferret Vets along route
freezer cooler packs	The Mini Ferret Chariot	Ferret Backpack
a few outfits

 

I am pretty sure I am forgetting something but as you can see it isn’t a short list. What’s in my suitcase?

Clothes	Groom kit	Journalism bag
Business Cards	shoes	coffee cup

 

As you can see it is a much shorter list. Traveling with ferrets isn’t for the faint of heart as you have to keep an eye on temperatures both inside and outside of the vehicle. Ferrets don’t do well with temps over 68-78 degrees.

When taking breaks be respectful of the rest stop and use the areas marked for pets and even though ferret poop isn’t that large I still set an example and pick it up and dispose of it properly. Be aware of who is around and any other pets.

Some dogs will chase anything that moves and neither of my boys knows to be scared of dogs or cats as they have both at home. Also watch for children that might come running up to pet the neat/weird animal. Some parents have never taught their children to be respectful of others and will touch without asking. I have a strict policy of picking up my boys off the ground and holding them to me and asking them certain questions before sending them off to have their parents come talk to me about them petting the boys.

This does two things it keeps my boys safe from being mauled and keeps the child from getting bit because they have something yummy smelling on their hands. It also gives the parents a chance to come talk to me about my strange critters. This is where the hand sanitizer comes in no matter how much a child says they have washed their hands some don’t do it.

To be continued…

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

It Is Still Sinking In.

 

I can’t believe that the Ferret Chariot is a reality. It is all in part to some wonderful people who thought the need was great enough to give a helping hand by donating, spreading the word, and being encouraging. Now when I am asked “How can social media help me?” I can show them.

If it wasn’t for social media mainly twitter the Ferret Chariot would still be a dream. I am still pinching myself to make sure that it isn’t a dream. Enlightened Ferret would like to thank the following people for their support.

@PumpkinPuddy, @Danapixie ,@PepiSmartDog ,@HartzPetz @PetBlogsUnited, @Flicka47, @anipalacademyawards, @Pasikas, @Jazzydacat ,@DaneRay, @DFSmith @PuppyaGuineaPig ,Xena and Wiggly Schnauzer, and Birdcage.net @BigBoyBosco

I am still working on adding everyone’s name to the van and the main graphic so until that is complete there won’t be any pictures of the Ferret Chariot and maybe not until Blog Paws when certain individuals get to see it.

We realize that many wanted to help out but couldn’t do so until later so we have decided that we will have a chip in for the maintenance of the Ferret Chariot. Those that donate to this chip in will be placed on a section of the van labeled FC Mechanics. There will be levels denoting Head Mechanic, Mechanic, Part supplier, Grease Monkey. These are still in the works and when finalized will be posted here, twitter, and on the boys facebook page.

Dreams are the foundation on our world but it takes the courage, strength, and support to make said dreams a reality.

Thank you all for helping us make our dream a reality.

Have a Chittering Good Day

Jo

Ferret Chariot

 

What a day I had yesterday. As most of you know we had a campaign to get a vehicle and thanks to some awesome donors, will be naming them soon, I went and picked it up.

There was some miscommunications so I had a long wait before I could get the last of the paper work done. Roomie and I went to the Erie Zoo to kill some time this statue grabbed my attention

 

Finally the last of the paper work was done, notarized, and paid for making the Ferret Chariot a reality.

The Ferret Chariot is a 98 Dodge Caravan.

 

And here is the blank canvas that will be sporting all the sponsors names and logos. Mind you these were taken at a rest stop on the way home.

 

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo