TNB Night Owl–The Pursuit of Excellence: Ferrets

Maasdam Swiss cheese. Photo by Arz.

Two days ago I had the perfect Friday Movie–PRETTY POISON (1968), a little thriller starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld. I saw it on YouTube the other day and it completely sucked me in.

Today I go to put it on to rewatch while writing this Owl and it–and the account it had been posted under–had been pulled. I found another copy that’d been uploaded within the past two days. Between finding it and playing it that, too, had been pulled. I took that as a sign. However, it is a great movie and I’d recommend it (even if I can’t link to a free copy).

Alienmotives was sitting next to me as this all transpired. We brainstormed and I thought of CHICKEN PEOPLE (2016), a documentary about people who raise show chickens. I’d watched it the previous night on Amazon and it was really well made.

“Of course, this will make the second chicken documentary I’ve done for the Owl. Is that too many?”

“How long has it been?”

“I don’t know. Is there an appropriate length of time between chicken documentaries”

So we nixed that idea and started from zero. AM then pondered, “I wonder if there’s anything on ferrets. Someone has to have done a documentary about ferret ownership in California.”

This is what brought me to an episode of PBS’ series, “The Pursuit of Excellence” titled, appropriately, FERRETS (2007). While not about the question of ferret legality in California, it’s a documentary about ferrets, which in and of itself, is fun.

We’re first introduced to a number of ferret owners and breeders. These are not people with a ferret or two in the living room. We’re talking upwards or seven or eight. They all have their reasons for owning and loving their little “kitten snakes”. We are treated to an overview of their personalities and habits. We’re also treated to some lovely ferret fan music.

Briefly it gets dark as they discuss the short life spans of the average ferret and the various burial rituals the different owners have (and get a rather dark tip on how to save money on ferret cremation).

The mood lightens up quickly as the ferrets try out their various costumes for the upcoming ferret show. Yes, like the various dog shows, cat shows, and chicken shows, they have ferret shows. The competition is fierce. And the little outfits are adorable.

It’s a fascinating little movie, but the real fun is in just watching the ferrets being little goofy ropes of silliness. Anyone who’s been around a ferret for an extended period of time will tell you how crazy they are.

For your odd viewing pleasure:

QUESTION OF THE NIGHT: Is there an animal you’d like to see a documentary about?

About the opinions in this article…

Any opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website or of the other authors/contributors who write for it.