Folks, HELP!  I am drowning in a sea of ignorance...The following appeared
in The Center News, a weekly newspaper distributed at the government
facility where I work.  It appeared in a pet care column, which started with
a recent college gradualte asking for advice for a good, low-budget pet.
The final paragraph was this:
 
   "Stay away from ferrets.  They are wild animals and were not meant to be
   domesticated.  While they're adorable, they do have a tendency to bite."
 
AAAUUGGHH!!!  #%@&*@!!!  10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1...must...control...fist..of
...death....  okay, I'm calmer now...somewhat.
 
On Tuesday, I would like to present the editor with a strong (but nice)
letter expressing the stupidity of the above statements, along with an FAQ,
a copy of Modern Ferret, and a couple extremely cute pictures of my two
'wild animals'.
 
What I need: I seem to remember Mo' Bob saying that the whole Egyptian thing
is either wrong or can't be substantiated.  When and where was the domestic
ferret first domesticated, then?  What other evidence can I give that they
are not wild animals?  I need *sources*.
 
Bite statistics, with *sources*, especially as compared to dogs and other
animals.
 
I'd include the rough draft of my letter, but I'm having a hard time getting
it from Word 6 on the PC to UNIX in any kind of semi-reasonable, vi-able
format.  I blame Microsoft; it could be FTP, but I blame Microsoft
(especially Word) whenever possible.
 
Okay folks, fill my mailbox, and I'll find a way to send the final copy to
the list, and let you all know the results...
 
Ed Atlee
[log in to unmask]
 
Prolly shouldn't have gone into the pet store right before all this, but
that's another story...
[Posted in FML issue 1677]