Meet the WINNERS in our 2003 annual
ferret lovers star search!
Our 2003 Ferret Star Search Grand Prize winner is:
Baybee
Nicknamed Darth Vador, who she is said to sound like when excited and playing, Baybee came to her human family from the 24 Carat Ferret Rescue and Shelter. Her human reports that she is hyper, but calms down automatically when she is picked up and held. Baybee was two in this photo; she had her leg amputated at age 2 1/2, but survived that with the support of her loving family. She now lives with her devoted human family, an albino boyfriend named "Sugar," and 9 other ferret friends. Baybee's face will soon adorn a rubber stamp in our 2004 ferret lover's catalog.
Baybee
Our 2003 Ferret Star Search
First Place Winners are (in alphabetical order):
Cocoa & Tango, Pippin, Smidgeon, and, Smokey & Bandit!
Cocoa and Tango, First Place Winners - Their human says, "Cocoa gives [my daughter] kisses ALL the time and Tango is one of my spunky "new babies", ... He has given new life to one of my older ferrets" Their human calls this photo: "Tango's first kiss"; however, Tango reportedly made a "face" when it was over. Cocoa is 4 years old. Tango is 10 months old
Pippin, First Place Winner - 5 years old; Pippin's human tells us: "Pippin is our first ferret, a rescue from the Animal Protective League. My brother convinced my mom that having a ferret was like having a kitten and they adopted him. Three days later ...they were all holding their knees up to their chin on the couch hiding their feet from the vampire carpet shark! We took him home and I always thank my brother because now our lives are blessed with ferrets!
Smidgeon, First Place Winner - 2 year's old; Smidgeon's adoring human tells us that Smidgeon is a cuddler and actually "chooses to lay on our lap.... If every ferret was like him, I would have dozens!"YES, there is a fourth first place winner this year... as it was impossible to stop at three. It was almost impossible to stop at four! So, last in our alphabetical list - but NOT least in any way: our fourth first place winner:
Smokey and Bandit, first place winners - Their human tells us, "Bandit came to us aptly named. He looks so cute and sweet when he is discovered having dug his way into the pantry and helped himself to a box of cheerios - we just can't be mad..." Bandit has also been known to steal a roll of toilet paper whether his humans are watching or not, then jump as high as two feet trying to retrieve it when it is taken away. Go Bandit!! Smokey is a sweet little guy and, reportedly, can win anyone over to the ferret world. His humans report that he is a "great kisser" and that his best buddy is a Jack Russell. Bandit (sleeping) is 2 years old. Smokey (facing the camera) is 1 year old.
Our 2003 Ferret Star Search
Honorable Mention (these are just a few of the fuzzies whose most precious of faces made our choice so difficult this year), in no particular order.
Ike D. Ferret - 4 years old
rescued after a rather harrowing experience on a cool October night. Ike's humans didn't immediately recognize him as the totally cool ferret that he is, but they have since come to love him and his more recently adopted sisters very much.
Bear - 17 months old
Bear's adoring human tells us that he is "the joy" in her day; he has very soft fur and beautiful markings and is the "attention grabber" among his ferret siblings. We think he is special too. Way to go Bear!
Oliver - 6 years old
Oliver's human tells us that he and his best ferret pal Olivia spend their days stealing candy and sponges and hiding them under the couch, they also love floating around in the bathtub and eating raisins. It sounds like a great life for a ferret - or even for a human! Oliver is blessed to have such a loving family of both humans and ferrets.
Wookie - 1 1/2 years old
Wookie, AKA "Waka Waka Waka" as Fozzie Bear would say - was a "solid, beefy, ferret with a cranky look on his face." According to his doting human, "the squeak of a dog toy would work him into a frenzy and he'd charge at whoever was making the racket" Wookie, that loveable curmudgeon, also reportedly hated getting kisses and the sound of a "smooch" would set him running. In our opinion, there are few things more adorable than a ferret that plays hard to get!
Tajin - 4 years old
Tajin is the love bug in his family. He cannot resist any human who walks by the cage and will beg and pout for attention. He recently lost his "mate" due to adrenal disease - a very hard loss for him. However, his loving humans have opened their hearts and adopted a ferret named Trinity who has helped all involved to go on after their loss.
Sheeba - 3 1/2 years old
Sheeba is a survivor, according to her human, she has "been through a lot of pain, medication and surgeries and fought for her life and survived." Despite all of this, we have been told, "she loves to play, chase, and most of all give kisses." Sheeba is a remarkable and very loved ferret.Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our 2003 ferret lover's star search - whether by sending in a beloved photo of your fuzzy or by voting for your favorite ferret pic. You have all made our star search both fruitful and exciting.
Our choice was VERY DIFFICULT. Nearly every entry had some overwhelmingly charming quality. In fact, there were so many utterly captivating photos and delightful stories, that we ended up with a four way tie for first place - when we had originally planned for only three. Unfortunately, we were limited to one grand prize and four first prize winners - even though many were deserving.
We also chose 6 entries for honorable mention - though we would have liked to have chosen many many more for recognition.
All ferret photos have been resized to fit this page; many have also been cropped and a few have been digitally enhanced in other ways - to better suit this page and our purposes. Our judges made their choice based on the original photos as submitted; many factors were considered.
All decisions are final. Prize packages will be shipped to our winners when they become available (generally 6-8 weeks).
