I think the reason so many of us get upset when we see a movie or a book
in which a ferret is portrayed negatively or slammed around (Along Came
Polly trailer--didn't see the movie) is that we know how many people
misuderstand and abuse these sweet, funny, intelligent creatures.
 
And so many of us have heard from others, who have never even seen a
ferret, that they bite; or they've been around a ferret and complain that
they smell, etc.  When I was considering getting a ferret, a friend said,
"DON'T; they bite." Another friend's girlfriend said, after encountering
Rocky a couple of times: "I hate ferrets; they smell."  (Ok, Rocky did
nip her socked-foot.  I have tried everything --positive and negative
reinforcement to break him of this habit, and nothing has worked, so I've
just accepted it.  But it upsets me that my OWN ferret is giving others a
negative impression of the species with this foot-biting.  (Plus I feel
like a failure after spending months and months trying to train.) At the
last ferret meetup, a member said that when he told someone at a party
that he had ferrets, the other guy said, "They're vicious carnivores."
(At least he got the carnivore part right!)
 
For those of us who live where ferrets are illegal, we fear any negative
portrayal is fuel for the fire.  I certainly feel that way.
 
Above all, we love our ferrets so much despite how annoying, expensive,
time-consuming and heartbreaking they can be.  They are the only animal
that can make you laugh every day no matter what you're going through,
comfort you and give you so much love while still being independent
creatures with a mind and a will of their own.  I have had lots of
different animals in my lifetime and loved them all but not the way I
love ferrets.  Perhaps it's because they're so much like little kids.
One friend commented that I play with Rocky they way he played with his
kids when they were little.  A woman who met Rocky at my hairdresser's,
and who had ferrets in the past, said, "They're like little babies; the
way you clip their nails and clean their ears and give them a bath."
(Not to mention brushing their teeth and buying them toys!)
 
So maybe that's why these things "push our buttons." I was a cat lover
for many years, but negative portrayals of cats, like in Pet Cemetary,
didn't bother me at all; in fact I loved that movie because the killer
kitty looked just like my dear, departed Yoda.  People know cats and
dogs; they either like them or not.  But people who have never even seen
a ferret and know nothing about them spout all kinds of negative stuff.
 
I didn't see the Harry Potter movie (and yes, it is a fantasy, and we are
all part of the food chain) but the justification that it was a
black-footed ferret bothers me even more because they are practically
extinct in the wild, and despite breeding efforts, their reintroduction
to the wild has not been very successful.
 
Speaking of BFF, why can't they make their own burrows?  Ferrets are
excellent diggers, too.  Is it laziness?  "It's just sooo convenient to
move into the prarie dog's after you've eaten him.  Then you can just
curl up and take a nice long nap."  Is it intelligence?  "We get food
and shelter in one fell swoop.  And when there's too much poop in here,
we'll just move to a new place.  No muss, no fuss."  Or is it that, like
our furkids, they're just such bad interior designers?  "Knock
everything down and scatter it all over the floor.  No, move that HERE.
It shouldn't be against the wall.  I'll do it for you.  Leave ALL those
plastic bags on the floor, FOREVER.  Oh, and the boxes and bubble wrap,
too.  Why is the garbage locked up?  I wanna knock it over and hunt for
fruit scraps.  Why are those pots and pans and covers in that big metal
box.  I think Ill open the door and push them all out; they make a nice
big noise.  Can't you just throw ALL of your clothes on the floor instead
of keeping them in those big wooden boxes?  They make for great tunneling
and sleepy spots.  Why don't you just put everything on the floor-- I
NEED this stuff.  This place is just not organized right.  I'll help you
redecorate...."
 
Shron & Rocky--"Speaking of movies, why aren't there more like The
Beastmaster?  We don't need any more bad PR.  And no one should eat our
wild cousins; they have enough problems as it is.  Thank goodness there
are a few special humans out there to be our slaves.  But they're not too
good at arranging things; you have to show them where to put stuff..."
"Say goodnight, Rocky."
"Goodnight, Rocky."
[Posted in FML issue 4542]