Re: bowl tipping (they're practicing for bigger game -- cows, I reckon)
My guys have no problem with those gravity/vacuum feed water bottles, the
kind you see on rabbit cages.  I only had to show them once, and they got the
idea.  If only litter box training were so easy.
 
J. Briscoe writes:
<One of my greatest joys is my three-year-old, William, and he has
<been taught how to treat animals with respect and loves them all.
 
  Yes, they *can* be taught, but will the parents of William's friends have
taught their children as well as you have?  No one is implying that children
of FMLers will be careless with or mean to animals.  In fact, I'll bet that
they're much better than Joe Average Kid, but sometimes...
  My ma says the scariest moment she's ever had as a mother was at a friend's
house, where a German Shepherd also resided.  She says she heard growling
from the dining room and peeked in.  My diapered and smiling 2-year old
sister had the angry dog's whiskers in both of her mitts, and her grinning
face was inches from the bared teeth.
  Who would have been to blame if the dog had chomped?  My sister?  No.  The
dog?  Maybe...but no.  My mother?  Tough one.  The owner of the dog?  Another
tough one.  Blame is so often passed needlessly.  No matter how vigilant the
parent or the pet owner, a situation like this *will* arise.
  What am I trying to say?  Don't know.  Be Careful I guess.
 
To M. Murrey (Diane?)
 
<What really makes me so mad is that when it was all over the vet
<said,  "I should have known to operate right away."  I don't think I
<will ever let that go.  I really miss my little girl.
 
  Sounds to me like your vet is at least an honest one.  It also sounds like
she cares.  Two very good qualities.  If she's not familiar enough with
ferrets for her own taste, then you've got plenty of people here willing to
help her.  I'd let it go.
 
To Dr. Williams:
 
  I'll be the latest to add condolences.  For a long time I hope -- they *do*
seem to come in threes.
  Also, I agree that the readers here can understand that there's more than
one way to skin a cat.  Hmmm, bad choice of allusions, but you know what I
mean.  Can a second opinion hurt?
 
To all:
 
  Have you ever been wrestlin' with the boneheads and heard the contents of
their bellies sloshing around?  I don't know if he'd just eaten, but I swear
Woody's stomach sounded like it was full of beer.  Didn't seem to bother him
much, and ten minutes later, when he dumped my desktop onto the floor, the
sound was gone.
[Posted in FML issue 1129]