I too heave a big sigh on behalf of Bob, Lori & Mr Clark: What very
tiny minds some people have.
I must admit to being one of those who very rarely read much on the FML
nowadays as I was sick of the constant judgemental & hurtful posts of
so many ferret owners about those who appeared only to be doing their
level best to care for as many neglected or unwanted pets as possible.
Yet, here we go again with yet another shallow view on someone else's
project.
Having Bob C visit one's home in the States would probably be an honour
and a privilege. To have the chance to spend time talking with someone
so ferret knowledgeable and interesting is something we in Australia
would absolutely love to do; but, unfortunately for us this was not to
be. The visits to our homes in Perth, Western Australia went something
like this.
Bob & Co get off the plane from the Eastern States at around 2:30 PM
Monday . Flying visit to place of domicile to drop off luggage, grab
test kits and head to my house, arriving at 5:00 PM. DNA testing,
weighing, recording & teeth check of my 38 ferrets, pack up and out
the front door by 6:45 PM ... no time for chatting as Bob, Lori & Mr C
all too busy concentrating on collecting required data, me running
back & forth getting the next "subject" and Shona flying into the City
to collect extra test kits flown in from the States via Fed Ex .....
not even time for a cup of tea. Bye Bob.
Fifteen minutes later arrives at Cathy's where 3 other ferret club
members have also arrived with their ferrets for testing. 8:30 PM
and another 40 or so ferrets later, Bob & Co again pack up and hit
the road .... again no time for socialising .... they have been on
the go now for roughly 18 hours and Shirley has dinner waiting for
them so it will be a couple more hours before they can hit the sack.
Tuesday evening another group of club members meet at Shona's and
once again, as soon as each one has taken up his/her position for yet
another round of testing, weighing, recording, teeth checking, etc.
the only ones who get to socialise are the members who have brought
their ferrets along to be a part of Bob's research.
Being a long time admirer of Bob C and being physically unable to
manage a trip to any of the abovementioned testing sessions, Nona was
very sad to miss meeting him when he was here in our very own State,
so, following a very busy schedule on Wednesday and mindful that
Lori & Mr Clark must not miss their flight back to the States that
night, Bob & Co managed to make a flying visit to Nona's on the way
through. Nona does make it sound like a long leisurely visit on her
web page but I can assure you he arrived at 6:40 PM and, after a glass
of coke & a quick chat, testing 5 more ferrets, demonstrating how to
brush a ferret's teeth and packing up again he was once again gone by
7:45 PM ..... I barely had time to nick home to collect the one frozen
ferret I was donating for necropsy (so hard to do as, if & when my
pets die I feel much better if they are buried in my own garden) ....
but I had saved this one for Bob and forgotten to take her with me
to Nona's :-(
Apart from the obvious expense being incurred by Bob to carry out what
is an amazing, all encompassing research project .... can't wait to see
the end results and how everything fits together ... if the few days
spent here in Perth are just a tiny example of how much he is squeezing
into each and every day of his trip then I am totally blown away by his
dedication to this project, particularly when it would seem that, apart
from having Lori, Mr. Clark & Shona to assist him here in Australia, he
is doing it all on his own.
Hats off to you Bob C and when you do get the time and money to throw
away on something frivolous, please come back to Perth, photograph all
our wonderful back yards and ferret enclosures, put your feet up with a
coke & something and we would all just love to shoot the breeze with
you.
Dianne Rohowicz
Western Australia.
[Posted in FML 5987]
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