Hello fellow FMLers!
 
This is a two-part message...
 
First, my 2 year old MF sable male tends to hiccup a lot.  At least a couple
of times a week, I'll catch him in the middle of the hiccups.  Poor baby.
Sometimes it follows my picking him up or rolling him on his back (he
*loves* having his tummy rubbed :), and sometimes it occurs spontaneously.
He is otherwise healthy (beautiful coat, weighs a healthy 4lb 5oz, active,
and has a great appetite on TF/Innova/Wysong).  I seem to recall reading
about hiccuping ferrets in conjunction with cardiomyopathy in the past --
but I hope that's just my active imagination.  Anyone have any ideas?  If he
were in any way sick, I'd take him to the vet in a second.
 
And here's the rant and rave... Does the state of California really think
that they can make an example out of Rocky in the hopes of intimidating the
guardians of the approximately half million ferrets in the state into
quietly acquiescing to the rape of our state's own constitutionally
protected private property rights which allow us to have domesticated
animals as pets?  Our government *must* be held accountable.
 
I'm not particularly inspired to sit quietly while this is happening.
Frankly, I'm appalled to see that these are the kinds of services that are
being provided through my and my partner's state tax dollars.
 
The government has overstepped its bounds and is no longer acting in the
interests of the people whom it serves.  We must make our voices heard (of
course, with the proper respect and deference to the officials whose
policies we hope to change).  To borrow a slogan from a group whom I admire,
ACT UP (and this is not intended in any way to make light of, or lessen the
importance of this group's efforts and successes), "Silence = Death".  What
has happened to Kodo, Rocky, and the countless other ferrets who have been
needlessly tested for rabies cannot be allowed to continue in light of the
latest scientific evidence and NASPHV recommendations.
 
 - Alyssa (there's nothing like getting fired up while I've got the flu)
[Posted in FML issue 2185]