>There was one, much earlier in or around London, England, I believe.
>
>Dick B.
 
Thanks for the Oregon info from back then.
 
I recall two in Britain over a number of years: one may have not been a
domestic ferret, though.  There was door open and a mother who was hard of
hearing, and when she returned to the room the animal was leaving so it
was kind of a possible ferret-possible polecat report.  The other involved
what is a very common scenario in domestic animal attacks of any type of
pet animal when the animal lives in the house: negligent parents who were
either drunk or drugged and passed out, with neglected and often abused
animals and baby.  Those were a LONG while back, though, so pull out that
grain of salt given possible memory problems over passage of time.
 
For some reason the number of four total worldwide sticks in my mind.
 
I do recall reading in an article (perhaps by pediatrician Freddy Hoffmann
but may have been elsewhere) that the serious attack rate by domestic
ferrets is pretty well equal to that of pet rabbits.  Somehow people
don't think of bunnies that way.
[Posted in FML issue 3663]