Dear Annoyed,
 
There are many of us who do view our ferrets as our children and I happen
to be one of them.  Due to circumstances in my life, I do not have
children which I desperately wanted.  I have had four ferrets and devote
a lot of energy and time to them.  They have become my children.  When I
travel they go with me and even get to ride in the front seat (harnessed
in of course).  The Rainbow Bridge is not necessarily something that we
believe exists as the poem says, but I am a not so sure that we won't see
our pets again.  The Bible does not say anything about whether or not we
will have our pets, but I tend to want to look on the positive side.  I
don't know if you have ever had to take your ferret (or any other pet) in
to the vet, hold it in your arms and have them put down, the whole time
your ferret looking at you with loving eyes, and knowing what you are
doing.  It is the most heart-wrenching thing I have ever had to go
through.  Unfortunately all of my ferrets are the same age and two have
already had to be put down this year and another one will have to be
soon.  I take comfort in reading about the rainbow bridge and having a
glimmer of hope that maybe my little girls are there.
 
No, I do not agree with everything on the ferret digest and skip postings
that I don't want to read.  Most generally I don't get involved in the
arguments because it is a waste of my time.  It might mean something to
the others involved and that is fine, I don't have to read it.  I have
also gotten very valuable information off of the digest.
 
Please, do not put people down because their animals are their children.
There are many of us who are unable to have children and so the animals
take their place.  Some people just choose not to have children, which
is also okay.  Let us grieve for our loved pets in our own way and allow
us to have a little bit of hope that we just might someday see our pets
again.
[Posted in FML issue 3904]