Along the lines of nominating Skeeter as FML hero (for which exalted post
there are just too many candidates to count)... I was thinking a while back
about Skeeter's role here.  Now, I've never really bought into the Rainbow
Bridge imagery, although I do like the idea and I think it's, well, sweet.
I like that pet owners, and ferret owners in particular, have a bit of
shared mythology to help comfort each other when we lose one of our most
loved companions.  But the first time I read one of Skeeter's posts, I
thought, "Well, that's cute."  And that's all.
 
Until the first time I lost a ferret (well, actually two in one week).  I
really felt horrible, and I posted to the FML in an attempt to find
sympathy and understanding, and in the hopes that someone would take away
the irrational guilt I was feeling, and the regret.  Not only did I get
quite a few kind and supportive emails (and no nasty ones; apparently even
the most critical of us are tender about other people's grief), Skeeter
wrote about how my lost ones were doing.  Reading that message was exactly
what I needed to unlock everything and really let myself cry; it let me
understand how much I love these creatures, and that grieving for them is
no less grief than that for any other loss.
 
Since then, I've been warmed again and again by Skeeter's compassion.
Reading a brief story about how your little lost one is doing--well, it's
become a shared ritual, a way to support each other.  It might look silly
and foolish and cutesy from the outside--but so do ferrets, dammit.  And we
all know that they ARE silly and foolish and cute--as well as serious, and
caring, and incredibly important to our lives.
 
I just had to say that; it's been kicking around a while.  Thanks, Skeeter.
You've created a ritual for us.
 
Re:  flu shots
Flu shots are only reccommended for immunocompromised people.  There can be
unpleasant reactions from the shot, and the shot itself only protects
against whichever strains we THINK are going to be endemic this year.  It's
suggested that people with strong enough immune systems to fight off the
'flu pretty easily just take normal precautions; people with immune
deficiencies or who work in a high-risk field (medicine, child care, etc)
should also consider the shot.
 
Maybe people with ferrets are another category that should. :-)  You
decide.  BTW, I've read multiple times now that ferrets can catch many
strains of influenza from humans--not surprising, it's a tenacious
disease--but cannot catch common cold viruses.  There have been at least a
few times that I've been snuffly and a few of the crew (once EVERYONE) came
down with a case of the sniffles for a day or two as well.  Once we all had
conjunctivitis--which is incredibly unpleasant and very difficult not to
spread, since it's generally spread before you have any symptoms (I think
it came in with a ferret, actually, and spread to me, not the other way
around).
 
Has there been any more reasearch on zoonosis between ferrets and humans?
And is that the right word, usage, and spelling? :-)
 
Jen and the Crazy Business
http://home.maine.rr.com/tesseract
[Posted in FML issue 2869]