Hi Everyone,
 
I want to share this story with others who, like me, could and would
understand. A quote from a gentleman who passed away a long time ago and
who's memory is still very dear to me best describs it. "It will bring a
tear to your eye and a smile to your heart."
 
Let me begin by saying this little story was written completely by my
youngest daughter, I have 4 kids, 3 girls and my son is my baby, as a
project for one of her middle school classes.  So, please, forgive the
spelling and punctuation for I have copied it letter for letter, word for
word.  I didn't know about it until she came to me and ask what I thought of
it and for those who would like to know, she got a 'B' for it.  She entitled
the story,
 
The Trageties of the Far North, and Still They Cry for Help
 
"Don't judge a friend by the color of it's fur, species, or it's looks." A
quote of an anonimos writer who, in many respects is right.  This is an
experience of two tradgeties, one of which resolved happily, the other, well
... has been mourned over for several months.  I will tell you first about
the one that happened to me.... It was a cool, calm night in Tannersville
NY.  My sister, brother, and I went to sleep in a small tent as a camp out
at our next door neighbors.  Overnight, a severe thunderstorm rolled in at
around 4:00 in the morning.  My other sister, Molly, ran to the tent and
took us home.  We had left our things behind.  When the storm passed, (which
was in a few min., since the storm was moving fast), we returned to the tent
to get our things.  My sister cried, " I think I dropped my brush outside."
So, she sent me to look for it.  Now, there was a shed behind our neighbor's
house, and as I looked for the brush, I came face to face with 2 sad
coal-black eyes, looking to me for help.  I called to my siblings, and we
saw that the 2 sad eyes belonged to a ferret.  He had taken refuge in the
shed.  We looked for the owner, but we later found that he had been
abandoned, and left for dead.  To this day, Benny 'Da Weasle' Gambini is a
healthy ferret who is well cared for by my family.
 
The other incident occured a year and 1/2 later!  I will not by any
cirrcomstances reveal the owners identity, so I will call him Mr. Phillips.
 
Mr. Phillips had gotten an inventation to a pet show in a mall, in Michigan.
He took his ferret, Kodo, to the mall.  An elderly couple walked up to
Kodo's owner and asked to pet the ferret.  (Kodo had his rabies shots and
had never bitten anyone.) The elderly man bumped his hand on the table as he
reached to pet the ferret.  As he did, he noticed a thin line of blood.
Laughing it off with Mr. Phillips, he walked toward the info booth.  He
mention to his wife that the ferret bit him, (he didn't know he had bumped
his hand then) and the Animal Control Officer over heard this, and took Kodo
from his owner.  After a long, hard battle, Kodo lost.  He was injected with
a poison, killing him.  Kodo was decapitated* and his head was sent to a lab
to test for rabies.  When the results came back, they were negitave.  Kodo
had been innocent.
 
What have these stories told us?  That there is compassion in someone's
heart, and there is hope for ferrets everywhere, and must thousands or a
great many more innocent ferrets die before we know the truth?
 
My family has 7 ferrets now 4 of them are brand new.  Rescues my mom calls
them from the border of Califorina because they hate ferrets there and kill
them.  I hope our house will become a sanction for ferrets everywhere.  * A
word to be looked up and defined.
 
Barbara McKeever 7th grade English.
 
Like I said, I just wanted to share this with other ferret lovers.
 
Sand
Benny, Fizzgig, Miranda, Skittles, Bupkes, Logan, and baby Kaos, Fuzzie
kids.  Molly, Francie, Barbara, and Tony, Hooman kids ( who I think are
the greatest kids going)
[Posted in FML issue 2088]