>From:    Catherine Garcia <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Catherine's Comments...
 
In case anyone wants to know a bit more about the ferrets in the pictures.
I'm not a "mushy" person so I don't often write stories about our ferrets.
But Furball will always be in my heart.
 
Derek was a few months old.  Furball was closing in on seven.  She had
recently won best in show alter at the Big Apple Ferret Fiesta.  She spent
hours after the show endearing herself to every single person she came in
contact with.  Dr. Williams and his wife were two of her conquests.  Furball
became a supreme grand champion in the independant system later that year.
This ferret never ever bit.  She never even accidentally touched human skin
with her teeth in play.  Okay so I'm biased but I believe there could be no
better ferret than this girl.  This was my first ferret.  Still my favorite.
She's now buried under a tree in Dale City Virginia.  Leaving her behind was
about the hardest part of moving out of that house.  Yes I knew that ferret
completely.  I'm sorry but I do get defensive of her.  So sue me...
 
The picture with baby Derek eyeing the baby kit was partially posed.  I put
the kit in the cup to take his picture.  Derek decided he was interested.
There was still a space of perhaps two feet between the kit and the human
baby.  A careful examination of the picture shows that.  At the time the kit
was probably about five weeks old.  We aren't positive but believe that kit
became known as Captain Adventure while in our care for his travels a few
weeks later.  He went to live with Bill and Glenna Hudson and has won Best
in Shows or First place ribbons at both AFA and LIFE shows for them.  At the
time of the picture his eyes were less than a week open.  Barely starting on
mushy solid food.  Crawling out of the cup, than a couple feet across the
floor and biting Derek was about as likely as say an invisible bat urinating
on an invisible cut and passing the rabies virus to a ferret (to borrow a
well known long shot in the ferret world).
 
People are going to continue to have pictures of babies and kittens and
babies and puppies.  I feel puppies are no safer than kits.  If people can
understand the concept that not all dogs are safe but many are than I
strongly believe they can figure out that ferrets are no different -
ESPECIALLY if we ferret advocates continue to treat ferrets, dogs and cats
as "equivalent" as pets.  I still describe ferrets as kittens that never
grow up (though kittens aren't nearly as cool as ferrets).
 
These very particular pictures were used by Diane Rogers, Ellen Byrne, Jim
Scott and the rest of the Maryland Coalition in efforts to lobby the
Maryland legislature.  Their bill's sponsor (I apologize for not remembering
her name) was ecstatic to meet Derek in person after the effect though
pictures had on her fellow legislators.  How better can we fight the
pictures of the injured girl with the disfigured nose than with our own
pictures?  It is a terrible shame that the ferret world is so political
within itself to try to destroy what could be some of its most powerful
tools.  Some folks that could be using these tools are too busy "hating"
people they've never met to take advantage of these offered pictures.  Oh
well...
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2136]