Hello all--
 
This will be a number of little notes, but I'd like to begin by commenting
on the idea that FMLers are "family." I've just come back from Christmas/New
Years holiday with my RL family & frankly, for the most part, I think FML
interactions are conducted on a kinder, more interesting level than are
family interactions.  (Don't get me wrong -- I have a great family, not one
of those disfunctional, miserable ones.  But family members inevitably have
all kinds of vested interests in the goings on of other family members--lots
of old alliances, hurts real and imagined, competitiveness, etc.) Instead I
think we are what we should be: a caring community with a shared interest
(okay, so it's a passion bordering on obsession).  I've enjoyed getting to
know your voices, your concerns, and your senses of humor in the months
since I subscribed.  And I'm tremendously grateful for the information and
wisdom that my fellow FMLers have shared so generously.  Maybe we're "ferret
pals," kind of like pen pals.
 
SULKING: Momo also flops down on his belly pretty frequently, but I don't
think he's pouting.  Sometimes the weight of the world is too much for his
four little legs to hold up.  He sighs & reconsiders his philosophical
position & when he's remembered why it's fun to be a ferret he hops up &
goes about his fuzzy business.
 
HUMANE SOCIETY: I didn't keep the post outlining the society's position on
ferrets, but there was one point that stuck in my mind.  It seems that they
are suggesting that ferrets are special animals who, if they don't get
owners who understand that they are not kitty cats or puppy dogs, are likely
to abandon them.  Someone else posted saying that the % of abandoned ferrets
is relatively small.  Are there any numbers on this?  Ferrets ARE different
from the domestic animals most people are used to.  They do require owners
with a special attitude toward animals.  I wonder if the Humane Society
might not be right on this one.  Every time I go into a pet store (as often
as I see one -- just to check out the ferrets & the condition they're kept
in) and here people cooing over the kits & buying them because they are
irresistable, I worry.  Most people won't tolerate poops in the corners --
even on paper -- and don't want half a dozen litter boxes.  Many pet owners
want animals that are really trainable (not that ferrets aren't, but there
are degrees.  I'm not about to try to teach Momo to sit and stay).  So when
I see someone buying a ferret in a pet store, I have a great urge to stick
my nose in & let them know just what they are getting into --- the very good
along with the not so good (from many people's perspective) aspects of
weasel ownership.
 
COLOR QUESTION: Charlotte is (I think) a black sable, but she has a wide
dark grey/black band running from her nose right back between her ears to
where it joins the rest of her coat.  Is there a name for this coloring?
 
SHIVERING: When Newton wakes up, his whole little body quivers for a minute
or so.  Anyone know why this is?
 
DR. DUTTON: I just moved from Henniker to PA.  Wish I'd known you were in
the neighborhood while I was there.  We may be returning, in which case
you'll have the pleasure of meeting Charlotte & the bad boys.
 
Okay -- enough for now.  Happy New Year!
Dina Stevenson     [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1431]