>From "J. L. Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
 
I couldn't agree more - children are very capable of being taught how to treat
and how not to treat animals at a very young age. More importantly, they can be
taught that every creature is deserving of respect whether they walk on two
feet or not and so every creature should be treated with respect that they
deserve.  For children, at first, this only means how to hold a kitten without
squeezing them or how to pet a dog or that they shouldn't pull the cat's tail,
and so on, but later it means much more.
 
My sisters and I were never not around animals - dogs, cats, etc. around home
and a wide variety of animals at my grandmother's farm. There were so many
incredibly "fragile" little animals that we were taught at very early age how
to handle like goslings, ducklings, tiny kittens, and baby chicks. We were
closely supervised and we were so very careful because the last thing we wanted
to ever do was to hurt anything. I have a long memory and can remember being
very, very young. I can remember the supervision of my parents and other
relatives with us being around the various animals. I can remember trying to be
so very careful not to hurt the animals and to handle them carefully. I can
remember being so nervous about my handling of the animals that it was scarey.
I probably handled them with as much care as when I held my baby sister for the
first time when I was four years old.
 
I refuse to accept the "Children will be children" or "Boys will be boys" sorts
of excuses. They're just that, excuses. I think children and animals are a
wonderful mix. Great companions and playmates. Often, a pet can be the child's
first friend. I do, however, think careful supervision is the only way to go
especially where young children and animals are concerned since there is a
"whole-lot" of training needed for both.
 
I also think that ferrets have unfairly been singled out as a "danger" to
children. I would be no more worried about them and my children than I would
dogs or cats and my children.These animals all have teeth and can bite, but the
real issue is to train all parties (2 and 4 legged) involved which will reduce
the risks to all parties involved. Ferrets a danger? No, no more so than a cat
or a dog and the size/strength/claw differences in these animals would tend to
point to the fact that ferrets are probably the least dangerous of the lot! I
would, however,  be *extremely* careful of other people's children and ferrets
since ferrets have been branded unfairly with the letter "R" in the Great
Rabies Crusade. I would also make some "rules" of play for small children in
ferret households, like "keeping your butt on the floor when playing with the
ferrets." This hopefully would prevent the accidental spills or steps from
injuring the four-legged kids.
 
-kim, mike, Squirt "the melon-addict",
   and Pippi  "a recovering sock-aholic"
 
Kimberly Burkard        |              _    Everything I needed to know in life
Xerox, Rochester, NY    |       _____C .._. I learned from my ferret:
[log in to unmask] |  ____/     \___/  Dance for joy often. Play often.
[log in to unmask] <____/\_---\_\    Be determined in your ventures.
[Posted in FML issue 1127]