Folks, make sure you keep your vaccinations up to date

There are bad, deadly diseases out there, and it's up to you to protect your furkids.

Suds...

So I was cleaning the Washington Ferret Rescue Shelter on Friday, part of which is letting the ferrets out to play. I went over to use the utility sink, and there was a ferret in it -- no big surprise there, as they always clamber into the sink from the nearby shelves. But then I noticed a streak of turquoise along his silver tail. And I'm thinking to myself, how did he get turquoise dye on his tail? Maybe it came from one of the wet plush toys in the sink.

Okay, so I figure, just rinse it off and hope it didn't stain, right? I turned on the faucet and start to rinse his tail. I notice more turquoise along his leg and his side. Okay, no biggie -- I just hope it will come off. I stick more of the squirming beastie under the tap (and by now he's starting to get pissed at me, as evidenced by the red scratches on my wrist). But I hold on tight and -- oh good, the turquoise is coming off -- but... now the ferret is getting sudsy. Sudsy?? WTF? The more I rinse, the sudsier he gets! Finally from the odor, I realize that somehow he got dish soap (probably Dawn) all over himself.

So I ended up with a drenched, angry ferret. He pretty much got a complete bath, much to his disgust. I never did find where he got into the soap, though.