Hi,
 
I just wanted to share what a great time my son and I had at the SOS show in
Baltimore.  This story actually began a few weeks ago when I saw the info on
the show.  I mentioned it to my son who immediately said he wanted to
attend.  This meant getting up at 6 am on a Sat.  which for a teenager isn't
the easiest thing to do.  But he was serious, so I emailed the Baltimore
Ferret Club for directions.  The directions on their home page didn't help
me get out of Southern Maryland.  After getting directions, the next problem
was which ferrets did my son want to show and what color/patterns are they.
Well, we figured out which ferrets and then, called the Baltimore Ferret
Club to try to get help identifying what class the ferrets should go in.
Not the easiest thing to do over the phone but the person I talked to did
their best and it was appreciated.  So, we get up to a rainy, dreary day and
head off to Baltimore (approximately 2 hours away).  While in line to be
checked by the vet, we met some of the nicest folks, the Hunt's.  They
invited us to join them at the show.  It was so nice to have someone to talk
to as we didn't know anyone there.  Once in the hall, my son went nuts
checking everything out.  He found lots that he wanted me to buy.  He
couldn't get over all the ferrets and all the colors and was after me to
bring another one home.  (Didn't happen, I couldn't afford it.) Then, he
found the fun games.  He entered several.  When it came time for our class
to be judged, he took our ferret up.  His excitement grew as the time
passed.  Though he didn't do well (16th place), he really didn't care.
After the judging, he went up to Diane Killian to ask about the coloring of
his ferret and how ferrets are judged.  (I actually did the talking because
he get shy.) She took the time to explain things to him and even looked at
another one of our ferrets that we weren't showing.  What he found out was
all of our ferrets wanted to be something but weren't.  The other ferret we
took to be shown placed second in the wannabe class.  We also came home with
2 ribbons from the fun games.  All the way home I heard about how much fun
my son had and could we go to another show soon.  My sincere thanks to the
Baltimore Ferret Club and all it's members, the Killian's and all the other
folks at this show.
 
     Terri Doughty
[Posted in FML issue 2271]