Many years ago, I was in Petco after a bag of ferret food. There was
a guy standing by the hexagon-shaped ferret enclosure. He was wearing
an NIU T-shirt. (We live fairly close to NIU.)

I looked at the little ones, playing in the tank, and struck up a
conversation with the university student. "They`re so cute, aren`t
they?" I said. He answered back "I`m waiting for them to go on sale.
They`re gourmet, you know" I looked at him, thinking he was joking --
but he continued "When they go on sale, I pop for one sometimes, and
feed it to my snake" He went on to tell me what kind of snake he had,
and how a ferret provided more entertainment than a rat, because
ferrets are smarter, and put up more of a fight. He told me he & his
friends checked the paper & Craigslist regularly, because they could
often get ferrets for cheap -- or even free. (Yes, some of his friends
had snakes too -- and he bragged that they could hide them in the dorm
or an apartment because they were quiet)

I nearly hurled, right there in the store.

It was this incident that put us on a completely different path, and
led us to where we are today. As of this month, it has been 16 years.

Love,
Zoo

[Posted in FML 8116]