Chris...I tryed sending this to you several times and have never seen
reference in you newsletters about it...so I am trying to send again
here goes....Laurie
 
[This time you got thru - remember that path!]
 
Below is an article that was pointed out to me by a relative that
I thought might be of interest to all, and that troubled me some.
 
I would love to hear from others that confirm that this is a crock.
 
It is a small piece that was in the Mother&Child section of the
October 1988 Good Houskeeping Magazine.  Here Goes (Just as it
is written):
 
           FERRET ALERT!
 
Each year some 50,000 people purchase ferrets to keep as pets,
even though they are wild animals.  But the weasel-like creatures
can be vicious, especially around children.  Doctors have seen
cases where babies have been so sevrely bitten as to require
reconstructive surgery.  So be a wise parent - DON'T KEEP
FERRETS AS PETS.
 
Well guys..any truth in this??
 
I have to admit it scared me a bit, but then the same can be said
about having Dogs or Cats.
 
But I do have children (not Babies), and it did put a scare in
me.  Our ferret (Patti) is very docile, even the vet remarked
how calm she is compared to others.  Can they change??
 
I'd love to hear remarks from others out there....
 
Laurie [log in to unmask]
 
[As written in issues 39 thru 42, basically this is total nonsense.
Or, at least, gross misrepresentation and scare mongering.  We go by the
following rule:
 
        Any article that states that ferrets are wild animals
        isn't worth the paper it's written on.  *Except* where it
        promotes further misunderstanding and should be
        *authoritively* attacked at source.
 
Which is why we've been posting out the letters on ferrets that we've
seen or written ourselves.
 
As with *all* pets, they should be supervised when around small children
or babies.  Anything else is negligence.  Even with a dog or cat you run
a risk - usually vanishingly small, but there just the same.  Issue 39
had a very interesting, reasonably researched, letter on actual incidents
of attack that shows that the incidence of ferret attacks on humans is
several orders of magnitude *less* than dogs on a per-capita
(per-dogita? -canita? ;-) basis.
 
Children should be taught on how to behave around ferrets, just as they
should be around cats or dogs.  Eg: don't tease them or grab them.  Handle
them *gently*.  They should be kept away from babies that are in the
"grabby" phase - even a dog will sometimes retaliate if grabbed - and we
all know how good some babies' grips are.
 
Can they change?  Well, our ferrets are getting *more* docile, not less,
as they get older.  And, surprise, ferrets don't even get particularly
nasty towards humans when they're in heat (though unfixed males do get more
aggressive towards other ferrets).  Not like some cats we know...
 
Pat (my wife) is pregnant and we have two ferrets.  We've read all of the
uninformed anti-ferret hysteria.  We've also read unbiased factual
information.  We're not worried.  We *are* going to be careful.  Just as
if we had a cat, dog or guinea pig.  Watch out for 'dem guinea pigs! ;-)]
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0043]