Dear Person who wrote,
 
The highest honor a ferret can receive is Ferret Of the Year.  The
Platinum (for Companion Ferrets who are spayed/neutered at a young age)
or Gold status (For Breeder, Adolescent/ Late Alter Ferrets) is a
certificate everyone can get after accumulating so many points.  This is
done by showing, so even if you have a ferret who is not the best of the
best, you can still achieve the certificate in time.  My Moses is still
working on his certificate after 2 years of showing, my Bartlett got his
Platinum certificate in 4 shows.
 
Now, a ferret must attend at least 4 shows to get Ferret of the Year.
They must also place in high up in the rings and get BIS (Best in Show).
They are ferrets who are the cream of the crop.  Once a ferret has
achieved their Platinum or Gold status, it is an UNWRITTEN rule that
one steps aside and stops showing them in the
Companion/Breeder/Adolescent/Late Alter rings.  It is something that you
do voluntarily.  Not everyone does it and that is on them.  My Bartlett
finished in 4 shows, 3 of which were in one year, the last show was in
March of the following year.  I technically could have continued to
show him in the second year and went for the Ferret of the Year award,
however, I felt like he finished and therefore I would step aside.  He
still shows in the color specialties but not in the point classes.  That
is something I chose to do to allow others to win.  Most decent people
will do this since the ferret will only get ribbons and the points no
longer matter.
 
I hope that helps.
 
Marguerite
 
Life is not how many breaths you take, but
how many times it takes your breath away...
TinyPrints Ferret Rescue PetFinder Web Page
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http://www.tinyprintsontheheart.com/onlinestore.htm
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http://stores.ebay.com/Aloha-Ferrets-Store
[Posted in FML issue 4990]