I recently met some ferrets and their folks on Vashon Island and got a first-hand taste of what makes these little guys and gals so popular. Their charming, goofy, freewheeling zest for life is like two pounds of furry Prozac.

During my visit to Ferret Shelter Northwest, Michael FitzPatrick told me a classic anecdote, which didn't make it into my final ferret rescue story. So I figured I'd share it here. Years ago, he was busking at the Pike Place Market, his ferret Sneakers curled in the open guitar case/tip jar. When a buxom spectator in a low-cut blouse leaned down to pet him, Sneakers disappeared into her cleavage in an instant. "All you could see was his tail," FitzPatrick said. "Thank God she was good natured about it."

The case of cleavage-bobbing is probably no surprise to anyone familiar with ferrets, which should be more of us. One way to get a clearer picture of these critters is by viewing variations on the famed weasel war dance -- among countless frenzied ferret videos on YouTube. My favorite is the ferret-and-lion tango. If you think you might be interested in a ferret for yourself, consider rescue or, at least, begin your education by talking to a rescue group, such as the Washington Ferret Rescue and Shelter in Kirkland. They'll give you the straight dope.

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