To begin with we were quite worried that Bramble could get lost or hurt herself if we just let her roam the house unsupervised, so we only let her out when we were home and initially kept her on a lead around the house, until we were sure she would be ok. Before long Bramble had the freedom of the house and we would regularly find her sleeping in the strangest places. Each time we discovered a new hideout, she would find another and always seemed one step ahead of us. She loved to make little nests all over the house and we eventually had to concede that one couch in our living room belonged to her, as she had dismantled most of the foam inside it to create a purpose-built hidey-hole. Bramble loved to spend time with people and whenever we had visitors she would appear, which turned out to be a great way to get rid of unwanted door-to-door salesmen! It also proved effective in terrifying my Mother-in-Law, when Bramble popped out of the couch next to her! Bramble's love of humans really came to the fore when she was out on one of her regular outings. Her favourite walks were along the River Don and in Aberdeen's many parks. She also loved to dig in the long sandy beach. During the summer months, she could often be found enjoying an ice cream outside the Inversnecky Café on Aberdeen's Beach Esplenade, where she would draw large crowds of fascinated onlookers. She loved the attention and had an almost telepathic knack of sizing people up.

Bramble with actress and model Pamela Donald outside the Inversnecky Café © Howard M. Kennedy

If a child was bold and brash, she would be playful and dance around but if she was approached gingerly by a shy or unsure child, she would sit calmly and let them stroke her. If people were fascinated but unsure whether to approach her, she would go to them. Over time, Bramble did a tremendous amount to slay the mistaken image of ferrets as vicious, snappy animals.

Bramble and Me sitting outside the Inversnecky Café © Karen Kennedy

Bramble got so used to going out that she would wait to be picked up every time any of us was leaving the house. I often gave in and would take her to some of the most unusual places you might expect to find a ferret. On one occasion, Karen and I were window shopping in Aberdeen, with Bramble in my jacket, and we decided to go to the Bon-Accord Shopping Centre for lunch. I opened my jacket and put a large chunk of ham and cheese croissant on a saucer on my lap. Bramble munched away, much to the delight of the other diners, who giggled every time a waitress passed and I hunched over the table to hide Bramble! When she had eaten enough croissant, she went to Karen for a share of her tea (a favourite drink of Bramble's). On other occasions, we would sneak her into pubs and she would share sandwiches, crisps and the froth off my pint of Guinness! Anywhere she could meet new people, Bramble wanted to go there and she made friends on buses, on the street, in parks and at the beach.

In addition to photography, I also work part-time using my Psychology degree as an outreach support worker for adults with severe and enduring mental health problems and Bramble's unique awareness of people's emotional needs gave me an idea that led to a new career for her as my therapy assistant.