Well, not to study, but to be furry little educators!  After the horror of
the Spokane incident - I can't put it out of my mind, especially when one of
my little guys comes to me for a hug :( - I thought I'd share a positive
experience with ferrets and kids.
 
Our 5th grader, Chris, has been wanting to take "his" ferrets to visit his
class.  His teacher was not fond of the idea (not an animal lover), but to
her credit, she pursued the request and got permission from the principal
and school nurse for the visit.  So last Friday, I packed all six of them
into our old (small) cage, and off we went.  All six of them with their
fluffy winter coats were quite a sight in that little cage!  Several mothers
picking up their kindergardeners stopped us on the way in to admire them.
All but one knew they were ferrets, and none of the mothers were afraid,
which was heartening!  The principal stopped by to have a look too.
 
When it was time for their appearance, we put the cage up on a table so all
the kids could see them.  I took the sleepiest one I could find, Buckwheat,
out of the cage and held him while I explained a little about ferrets and
answered questions.  A few of the kids had been in Chris's 3rd grade class
when our first two ferrets, Clover and Alfalfa came for a visit.  So they
were happy to see Clover and Al again.  Then it was time for recess, but
about half the class stayed back and begged to hold a ferret.  At first I
said no, because I'd been told that was one of the conditions of the visit.
But their teacher said it was OK, seeing, I think, that our guys were very
docile and friendly.  So out they came!  I thought perhaps two at a time,
but the kids were very good with them, so we had up to four at a time being
held and playing on the table tops.  All the ferrets were very well behaved -
good little ferret ambassadors!  All six of them took turns being held and
passed around, and not one of them got squirmy or fidgety.  I was proud of
them!  They were glad to get back home, though, and resume their naps!
 
Nothing monumental here, but who knows what a lasting impact a small,
positive experience like this might have for ferret-kind...
 
Nancy
[Posted in FML issue 2149]