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Ferrets
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2
ND EDITION
by Kim Schilling
Foreword by Susan Brown, DVM
Ferrets For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007935587
ISBN: 978-0-470-13943-1
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Author
A Chicago native for all but two years of her life,
Kim Schilling
resides in a
south suburb of Chicago with her husband, David, and son, Samuel. Kim pub-
lished the first Edition of
Ferrets For Dummies
in 2000 after three grueling
years of title changes, rewrites, and personnel turnovers. Today, her book is
the bestselling ferret book on the market. Although writing is a passion of
hers, and she vows to keep doing it, her true calling is her son, Sam. Her life
changed forever in 2001 when she broke her back and pelvis — the result of a
horseback-riding accident on Mother’s Day. The traumatic injuries were the
bad news; the good news was that she found out the baby she was told she’d
never have was three weeks in the making. Born in 2002, this little miracle
changed her life. At one time, Kim thought she knew what was important.
Today, she knows without a doubt what’s important. Sam, this wonderful, lit
boy, has completed her life.
When Kim isn’t working full time or being Mom, she’s running Animals for
Awareness, a USDA-licensed and -inspected facility. Created in the early
1990s — incorporated in 1997, with nonprofit status attained in 1999 —
Animals for Awareness is dedicated to meeting the needs of wild and exotic
animals. Its mission:
Protection Through Education.
Although Animals for
Awareness doesn’t adopt out exotic animals to the general public, it does find
permanent USDA facilities for the bigger exotic animals and almost always
has domestic critters such as ferrets up for adoption. Kim and many of her
exotic critters frequently hit the road to educate as many people as possible.
Her main goal is to promote responsible pet ownership and discourage the
keeping of exotic, dangerous, or wild animals. Among the 50 species of animals
she cares for, Kim dotes on her six ferrets — Squee, Gir, Gaz, Casanova,
Dusk, and Macey — who reside peacefully with three happy little fennec
foxes. You can learn more about Animals for Awareness at www.animals
forawareness.org.
Dedication
For my beautiful son, Sam, for he is the brightest blessing in my life. For David,
my husband, who stands by my side. For my dearest friend Dr. Mike Miller,
whose untimely passing will always leave a gaping hole in my heart and
whose wisdom filled my life with priceless knowledge. For my invaluable,
precious friend Bob Church, whose immeasurable love and understanding of
ferrets has so inspired and taught me.
Author’s Acknowledgments
I have to start off by extending a big thank you to Dr. Susan Brown, my techni-
cal and medical editor, who went way above and beyond the call of duty by
spending countless hours helping me research and answer my many ques-
tions. Susan was both my coach and my cheerleader. She is truly priceless
and inspiring, and I value the friend I gained in her. A big hug and a thank you
to Bob Church for his generous help on many areas of the book, in particular
the diet and enrichment chapters. What’s a ferret book without the influences
of Bob Church?
Thank you to a doll of a guy, Travis Livieri, for his devotion and work with
black-footed ferrets and for lending his support to me. Thank you to the fol-
lowing fantastic veterinarians for reviewing and contributing to medical sec-
tions or issues: Dr. Bruce Williams (ECE and the infamous Poop Chart),
Dr. Jerry Murray (heart disease, heartworms, and diet), Dr. Karen Purcell
(descenting and diet), and Dr. Katrina Ramsell (DIM). Some of these wonder-
ful vets took their precious time to review other parts of the book as well.
Vickie McKimmey of Just a Business of Ferrets and Scarlett Gray of Scarlett’s
Happy Dookers, both judges with the American Ferret Association, spent a
lot of time going through pictures to pick out the best color photos for the
color insert. I thank them from the bottom of my heart! Speaking of photos,
thank you to Jennifer Deming for your talent as a photographer. I was blessed
to find you. You are nothing but a pleasure to work with — a true gem!
Many other individuals helped with this book, including Sukie Crandall with
her wealth of knowledge, Bill Gruber, Renee Downs, Dr. John Lewington, Julie
Fossa, and Marie Bartholdsson. Dr. June McNicholas was priceless when it
came to sharing her thoughts on hybrids. And I’d still know nothing about
angoras had it not been for Lisa Oestereich and Christine Matthis. A heartfelt
thank you to each of you. Special thanks to Dr. Valerie Staton for sharing her
expertise on ferret introductions and aggression. Her grasp of ferret behavior
is amazing! Thank you to all of you who sent in photos for possible publica-
tion. The publisher decided to go only with Jennifer’s pictures. My apologies.
Finally, a special thank you to Rebecca Stout, aka Wolfy, who jumped through
hoops to get me information on deaf ferrets and to update her Web site in
anticipation of it being published in
Ferrets For Dummies, 2nd Edition.
She’s a
champ! Editors Mike Lewis, Josh Dials, and Natalie Harris of Wiley have to be
acknowledged for putting up with my mood swings and difficult moments.
There were many others who helped make the second edition possible, and
to all of them I extend a heartfelt thank you!
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