Washington Post 24 Jun 1988
 
LOST FERRET PUTS OWNER BACK IN JAIL
2nd Person to Begin Rabies Innoculations
 
  Despite the tearful plea of the owner of a missing ferret that
authorities fear may be rabid, Judge Thornton ordered Jennifer Au back to
jail for contempt of court.
  Meanwhile, a second person who says he was bitten by a ferret in the pet
store where Au''s animal was kept is scheduled to begin rabies innoculations.
  There is no federally approved rabies vaccine for ferrets.  Testint the
weasel-like animals for the disease involves decapitation, a fate Au sought
to avoid by having an anonymous caller pick up her pet and hide it.  Au,
a biology major at Virginia Tech, says she does not know who has her ferret
or where.
  Ed Kurlansky, vice president of the Docktor Pet Center where Au used to
work, said last week that Fuji was brought to the store by a customer and
that the animal's history was unknown.  Au said Fuji had been in the store
about a month before she adopted it--the same day the child was bitten by
one of three ferrets in a bin.
  Yesterday, Prince William County health director said he had recommended
that an unidentified 24 year-old man begin the inoculations.  The man said
he was bitten by a ferret in the same pet store a week before the child.
  The current rabies prevention treatment - six shots, generally in the
arms and legs, over 28 days - is an improvement over its predecessor, which
involved 21 inoculations to the stomach.  The new treatment is still
potentially dangerous.  END OF ARTICLE
 
then this from the Potomac News editorial page
 
Fetter the Ferret Sales
 
  Jennifer Au has endangered a little boy in order to save her pet ferret.
Her priorities are not only out of whack; they are disgusting.
  Miss Au was working at the Docktor Pet Center in Manassas Mall on June 3
when 5 year-old Austin Jacob Simpson was bitten by one of three ferrets.
  Health officials tested two of the three ferrets for rabies (unfortunately,
testing involves decapitating the ferrets in order to examine their brain
tissue.)  The two ferrets were free of the disease.
 
** some history here about stuff previously related in other articles*
 
....where an anonymous person from the International Ferret Association
picked Fuji up and hid her.
  If thats true, then Miss Au is not the only person who belongs in jail.
The ferret freedom fighters who aided her misguided mission should be
sent there too.
  This case raises issues other than Miss Au's deplorable behaviour.
Ferrets are wild animals.  They are known too bite small children.  They
can contract and transmit rabies.  There is no approved rabies vaccine
for ferrets.  There is no accepted quarantine period to determine whether
a ferret has rabies.
  So why are they being sold as pets?
  The first priority here is to locate Fuji, determine whether she is rabid,
and complete or terminate the rabies prevention treatment for the child.
  Then, authorities must take a close look at whether ferrets should be
sold or kept as pets.  Owning a wild animal that has a proclivity to bite,
but cannot be tested for rabies without being killed, does not seem fair
to humans or to ferrets.  END OF EDITORIAL
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0030]