I've only been skimming the fml in recent months and missed many issues, so
I'm not sure if I'm repeating a recent discussion, but I was just wondering
if anyone else has been following the comic strip Us&Them (by Wiley Miller &
Susan Dewar) in their daily paper.  For it is the only daily syndicated
strip that I know which features a ferret: Annie, a sable by all
descriptions.
 
The strip is about Joe, a divorced radio talk show host with a
self-described pathetic love life who is also the owner of the ferret.
Recently, as Joe has learned to use the Internet to meet women (or one woman
in particular), so, strangely enough, has the ferret.  You can see the
ferret alternately cavorting on the keyboard or actually sitting at it,
typing like a person.  Recently, the humor of the strip has revolved around
the misunderstandings caused when Joe flirts with a woman on the internet,
and so does the ferret, often without Joe's permission or knowledge and
always with clearly mischievous intent.  In fact, Annie's prime mission in
life seems to be running interference with Joe's romances.
 
I do admit this may not be the funniest of premises or the funniest thing
ever written or drawn about ferrets, but it's caught my attention for
several reasons.
 
First among those was the fact that the ferret was a fixture in the cartoon,
not every day, but often enough.  I first noticed the ferret about a year
ago and have clipped about a dozen strips featuring Annie since then.  I'm
sure there are many I have missed.  Ferrets Anonymous Newsletter has
reprinted a couple.  Right now, Annie takes center stage in the strip, as
she's been part of the action for about a week in a row now.  I'm sure
she'll probably get a break soon, which is why I decided to post about the
strip now.
 
The second thing that caught my attention about the strip was the postive
image of the ferret (mischievous and cunning maybe, but also utterly cute
and adorable), as shown in such lines as "She's a ferret.  Her name is
Annie.  She's sweet and gentle and never bites" or "the ferret is just
adorable".
 
And last, but not least, I'm reading this strip in the Los Angeles Times,
the largest newspaper in the country (daily circulation well above a
million), published in the most populous city of a state where ferrets are
still illegal.
 
While I don't think the strip helps legalization efforts directly, it may
well have an impact on public opinion, given Annie's regular appearances and
the L.A. Times's substantial readership - many of whom, as CA residents,
are probably still misinformed about pet ferrets or know nothing at all
about them.
 
The L.A. Times has a rather large and varied selection of syndicated strips,
and most comparable papers seem to have a much smaller selection.  Which is
why I'm wondering how well-known this strip is across the country, i.e.
which other papers run it.  It's fairly new to the L.A. Times, perhaps a
couple years old.
 
Lastly, the strip has an email address, which comes up periodically:
[log in to unmask]
Joe Pyle is the name of the character who owns the ferret, not the
author/artist.
 
I'm going to sent the authors a note thanking them for helping to promote
public awareness of pet ferrets, as well as a positive image in a state
where ferret owners need all the help they can get.
 
Claudia
Los Angeles, CA
[Posted in FML issue 1755]