Good morning everyone.  I just want to take a couple minutes of your time
today.
 
I want to thank everyone.  I cannot do it by name because there are just
too many people to thank.  Please forgive me if I miss anyone.
 
Thank you to BIG for touching so many lives.  Without the FML we would not
all be here to listen, talk, complain, support or love each other.  No
matter how busy you get in your own life you still manage to find the time
and the energy to go through all of our posts and put them on an email
that touches so many readers.  Thank you.
 
Thank you to the vets that are on the FML.  Whether you write responses to
our questions or you just listen and learn.  You help more than you will
ever really know.  You see, just by reading about the problems that we
have with our fuzzies, you learn.  Then you take what you have learned
back to your clinic and you help other owners of ferrets.  Without our
vets a lot of the ferrets would not be here today.  When you respond to
us with help and with ideas it helps more than just the person asking the
question.  We all learn something and then can take that knowledge and
help our ferrets and sometimes even our own vets that wouldn't otherwise
know.  Thank you.
 
Thank you to all of the Shelter Parents out there.  There are no words to
describe all of what you do.  You do so much not only for the animals but
for your families and your communities.  You touch so many lives each and
every single day.  You look at each fuzzy with so much love and devotion
and you always try your best to help the fuzzies.  You don't complain
about all of the cleaning, training, biting, energy or time that it takes
up from your day.  You don't do it to become rich and famous.  You give
hope and life back to the ferrets and to the families that adopt them.
Those ferrets that stay with you forever do not get shoved back in some
little room and forgotten about until they die.  They get so much love and
support so that when they finally do cross over to the bridge they will
know that they were loved and that their last days on this earth were
filled with happiness.  Thank you.
 
Thank you to the volunteers and supporters at the shelters.  Without you
a lot of shelters would not be around today.  The volunteers give their
time to help out in any way they can.  They come and clean cages, teach
classes, do paperwork, play, feed and love the ferrets.  They do not do
it to get anything out of it except to see the ferrets happy and healthy.
The supporters donate money or items to help the shelter.  They help in a
number of ways and sometimes they don't even get to see the shelter they
are helping.  Thank you.
 
Thank you SOS.  You manage your own lives and families and yet still have
the ability to help out all of the shelters.  You don't get to meet most
of the shelter parents or the ferrets that are there.  You help so many
ferrets and families around the world.  You all seem to find the funding
somewhere and you send it out to needy shelters.  You react quickly and
save lives.  Thank you.
 
Thank you to our family and friends.  They put up with so many things
sometimes.  Having ferrets is a family affair even when they didn't ask
for it.  They help out when they are needed and sometimes they do it
because they have fallen in love with the ferrets too.  They understand
that some of our time and money is going to be spent trying to help our
sick fuzzies.  They learn that they may get bit and they don't get upset
when they do.  Thank you.
 
Thank you to our employers.  Some employers let us leave suddenly to take
care of something with our fuzzies.  They know that sometimes we are tired
because we spent all night up with a sick fuzzy or at the hospital with
them trying to help them.  Our employer also helps us pay for our fuzzies
needs and wants.  We get a paycheck every week or every two weeks.
Without that paycheck we would not be able to have our wonderful little
fuzzies.  Thank you.
 
Thank you to the Rainbow Bridge.  You help so many animals cross over
every year.  You never complain about space or about the time of day it
happens.  You accept all of our animals and with Sandees help you show
them all around.  You reunite them to their old playmates and you
introduce them to new ones.  You give us hope and comfort that they are
happy and out of pain.  We may not always understand why they had to go
to you, but we are happy that they have you to go to.  Thank you.
 
Thank you Mommies and Daddies.  The families that have ferrets and love
them...there are no words.  Without you the ferret that you see everyday
might not know love.  You love them and take care of them and never ask
for anything in return.  You are the one up in the middle of the night
because your fuzzy coughed or just wanted to come out and play.  You are
the one who sometimes have to make life and death calls.  You are the one
who beats yourself up when something happens to your fuzzy.  You are the
one that they run to when you get home.  You are the one that they want to
play with and to cuddle with.  Thank you.
 
Last but not least:
 
Thank you ferrets.  You are a gift from the heavens above.  You came into
our lives and have shown us what no other animal could.  We can see the
love in your eyes as we hold you in our arms.  You make us laugh.  You
make us cry.  You show us the kid in everyone that we thought had died
long ago.  Without you, the FML would not exist.  You have shown us all
just how determined you can be.  If we listen close enough, you would tell
us that you love us and that you never want to leave.  Even though you may
dash out the door you didn't mean to leave us alone.  You only wanted to
see what else was out there.  You are our lives.  You live on in our
hearts and in our souls.  Your personalities are so different and yet you
love so deeply.  Thank you.
 
Joanne
Spice, Pepper, Flower, Bugs, Dodge and Kuri
[Posted in FML issue 3694]