This is the first chance I've had to get online and read email since
I've been in California. I had a dear friend and mentor, one of my
fact-checkers, coincidentally die while I was here, and the last few
days have been spent helping his widow and family. He was like a father
to me, and I deeply miss his gruff voice making fun of my hair or
strange body reactions after eating chilies and cheese. It has been a
hard year losing people I care about. I also had to work on some legal
stuff about my mother's death last December. In terms of vacations,
this has been a lousy week.

I must have had about 20 emails about some rabies site at Mizzou??
Well, it might have been there, maybe still is there, but since
Columbia made ferrets legal some time ago, I haven't been monitoring
many of the local sites. I've been busy with working on ferret dental
issues, feral ferret issues, diet, behavior and husbandry, and
enrichment. I guess my plate was a bit too full too full to add website
monitoring, but I apologize if that offends or disappoints some of
you. I was told by a professor friend some time ago that it would be
updated, but since people were using the compendium rather than going
to an internet site, it wasn't a priority. But, honestly, I have no
idea of the site or the situation about it. I suggest few nice letters,
but I won't be home for another 4 or 5 days. Not that I would
personally make a big stink about things; Mizzou people work well
with nicey-nicey, but get bull-headed with threats.

I was also asked in two emails why I didn't care if Columbia was a
ferret-free zone. Well, maybe the writers should attend a ferret
function or two, since I talk about it frequently and exactly why I
ignored pressure to change the law. I even discussed the Columbia ban
in Pasadena CA Saturday last when I have a presentation on "The Ethics
of Ferret Ownership." I compared "benign" versus "malignant" ferret
free zones and our ethical obligations to change them. Marylou from
Ferrets magazine was in the audience, I was running on "Bob Time" and
was late and everyone was waiting for me. Who would have thought?

Columbia was a "benign" ferret free zone, where I thought the benefits
of no ferrets being sold in the pet stores to 100,000+ students at 3+
universities far outweighed the risks of being cited by a law that was
essentially unenforced. Before the ban was lifted, I rescued maybe 20
ferrets in a heavy year. Since the ban was lifted, I get them 3 or 4
at a time, and in the next year will probably get 100. I am hoping the
numbers fall after the novelty wears off. It should be important to
point out that I am not the only ferret owner in Columbia, and since a
ban was a paper tiger, we -- with mutual agreement -- elected to ignore
the law and kept our ferrets, but not try to change the law unless a
situation arose that required action. In the meantime, we drastically
cut down on the rescue of baby ferrets found in college rooms.
Regardless of the ban, there are strict rules on pets in dorms, so even
if the community ban was rescinded, it would not change the dorm bans.
Well, you don't have to like or agree with the group decision, but it
is neither here nor there since the ban no longer exists.

FInally, I was asked about stopping for ferret talks on my way home
from California. I will do my best and will call some of you Sunday.
If you don't get a call, please accept my deepest apology. I will do
my best, but recall I am just recovering from both surgery and lungs
infected with MRSA. I am still easily fatiqued and worn out. Think
about it; I live to talk, so turning down a ferret talk REALLY means I
am simply too tired. We all have limits and I guess it is a good thing
I have realized mine before it was too late.

Thanks to all the Pasadena people, Marylou, Sari, Bambi, and the Crazy
California Sisters for all their support. Thanks also for the time I
got to play with the meerkats; it is not food that gets to my heart,
but small fuzzy animals. I look forward to seeing some of you again
tomorrow in Sacramento.

Anyone want to moon the CFG for a photo?

Bob C
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[Posted in FML 5564]