This is for those people uncomfortable with the words "pets" and
"owners"....
 
It finally occurred to me what we should call our ferrets (besides "no!",
"stop!", and "come back with that!").  This is nothing Earth-shattering,
it just finally occurred to my sometimes-slower-than usual brain.
 
They're our "charges" or "wards", and we're their "guardians".  These
words don't imply property, but the *do* imply that we have a
responsibility to care for them.  The word "owner" fails boths of these
tests.
 
Of course, they may sometimes think of us as "wardens" instead of
guardians, and we may sometimes think of ourselves more as
"custodians"......
 
Of course, furkids, the kids, and mommy and daddy still work, too.
 
Just more random thoughts from the mind of:
Roger, Digger, Bear, Fox and Sniffles
[Posted in FML issue 3762]