>From:    Gary Robertson <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Pogo bites and mirrors
>The critical common factor may be that I had just wiped off the fogged up
>mirror, which makes a squeaking sound.
 
Yep, the squeeking sound is definitely a factor.  About 2 months ago some
friends dropped off a fuzzy orange softball with their ferrets, daring me to
squeeze it, but NOT until they left.  Naturally, I was intrigued.
 
Well, they left, I squeezed, it squeeked, and the ferrets promptly shredded
me.  I mean 5 nasty, head-shaking, HARD biting ferrets, bad enough that they
chased me on top of a high-chair.  It was strange -- a simple sound turned
normally gentle ferrets into savages.  Neither of the sittees had ever
bitten me before, and none of my guys had bitten me since he was a kit.  The
next evening I was stupid enough to repeat the experiment, and got precisely
the same results as the night before, so I put the garish toy back in the
carrier for keeps.
 
The moral of the story is: squeeky-toys are a good way to locate ferrets,
but users beware.
 
MF: I know some readers are tired of the subject, and I apologize for
bringing it up again, but there are important issues that need discussion in
a public forum.  To set the record straight, I don't question the motives of
the people trying to effect change as much as the manner in which they would
effect it.  We may have *moral* reasons for insisting that MF answer to us,
but legally we have no standing.  Therefore, those demanding policy changes
remember that *if* MF entertains our ideas, they do so of their own
volition.  We can't force them to change any more than we can eliminate
impulse buying.  Legally, MF can dismiss us, our interests, and our ideas
forthwith, so any proposal made to them better take into account *their*
interests as well.
 
That's as unbiased as I can get.
 
Lastly, I'll miss Bob Rudich. Little else to say, but condolences to the
Rudich family.
 
swamp
 
"Who, me officer? What's a ferut? These guys?? No, they're Polish cats."
[Posted in FML issue 2005]