Howdy!  It's Princess Pepper for SOS again.  I get to talk ta ya about
something SERIOUS.  My momma talked to me about it yesterday.
 
There is a bad thing out in the world.  It kills us ferrets.  It is
called Aleutian Disease Virus or ADV for short
http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/adv.html.
 
She said there is no real funding for research on it.  There is no cure
and no vaccine.
 
ADV attacks the immune system and makes us kids weak.  We get sick
easily.  We can die from a week to 2 years after we exposed.
 
This ADV thingy is really bad cause it means that da kids with it can't
go play with normal kids.  I tell her dat they look normal kids so there
shouldn't be any harm in it.  Momma told me dat if an ADV kid played with
a normal kid that the normal one could very easily get ADV.  She said
that it spreads quietly and quickly.
 
I asked mommy why don't we get rid of dhis ADV thing then.  It no good
to have around if it makin' us sick.  She said that they are tryin.  But
it goes slow cause they don't have money.  Can you believe that people
don't care about ADV?  Momma said that it is just people that don't have
ferrets and don't understand it.
 
The University of Georgia is studying ADV and trying to come up with a
vaccine for it.  Wouldn't that be cool?  Momma told me that every year
SOS does a 4th of July Card Exchange and that the money that they raise
goes to da university to help with their ADV research!  Isn't that cool?
 
Did you know that you didn't have to be involved in the card exchange
though?  My momma is part of SOS said that she is collecting all of the
money for the research and will put it into the total raised for the
Card Exchange.
 
She even set something up so you can watch da money grow!
http://www.geocities.com/imdella/4th.html
 
Right now we have just over $500 raised!  So we still have a ways to go.
 
I told momma that I would try to get people to help and send a donation
for this to:
 
Joanne Ruffner (SOS)
289 Patton Street
Huachuca City, AZ  85616
 
I said that you all would send money to help.  She said that they have to
make the check or money order out to 'University Foundation'.
 
I know you all gonna do it.  If you just send a check in ANY amount.
$5.00, $10, $20 or more!  They tryin to raise $1,000..  Me being the
Princess that I am .  thinks we can top that and raise $1500!
 
I gonna be botherin' ya all for awhile cause I wanna see them raise money
for this.  I no wanna get sick.  Please, will you help me and my family
and yours not get sick?
 
Luvz & Hugz,
Princess Pepper
 
(permission to cross-postie granted)
[Posted in FML issue 5302]