Hello, all....
 
Kodo is still alive today, thanks to you.  This case could not have come so
far without your help, your donations, and your good wishes, and those of
thousands of people around the country and around the world.
 
With so many people getting involved, and with Kodo's life still in the
balance, it becomes more important that we all pull together in the same
direction, as a team.  In this team, KODO's TEAM, everyone has their own
special part to play.  It's important that everyone play THEIR OWN PART and
do it very well; otherwise, any strategy will be spread thin and
disorganized.
 
Bud Jackson, Kodo's publicist, has asked that we all look at our tasks now
and FOCUS:
 
*** LEGAL HELP: Kodo's attorney, Mr. Gani, is responsible for all legal
matters.  We must depend on his expertise to do the right thing.  If he
needs anyone's help, he'll ask.  If you have any suggestions for him, please
DO NOT CALL HIM UNLESS ASKED.  Let him focus on his part.
 
If you have any ideas, please forward them to Kodo's owner, Bob Jacobs--
e-mail: <[log in to unmask]> Bob will forward them to Kodo's attorney.
 
*** PUBLICITY/POLITICAL ADVICE: This is Bud Jackson's job,coordinating
publicity efforts and relations with the media.  Please DO NOT contact Bud
directly.  He is very busy talking to reporters, writing releases, and with
his own business - he has to give his full attention to this task.  If you
have suggestions for media relations, press conferences, or events, please
contact Lee McKee (e-mail: [log in to unmask]); she will pass along
suggestions to Bud.
 
*** FUNDRAISING: While Bud and all of you are working pro bono on this case,
there are still tremendous legal fees and fees for filing Kodo's story with
the world press.  It costs $400 just to send out ONE release, and the longer
this case continues, the more releases and legal fees are incurred.  If you
want to see this case to the end and make sure that ferrets everywhere get
treated fairly in these kinds of cases, there must be money to pay for media
and for legal expenses.
 
PLEASE send what you can.  If you want to hold a fundraiser for this case,
PLEASE DO!  If the media are to be present at your fundraiser, please
contact Bud (though Lee, see below) for a briefing beforehand.  If you have
a great idea for a fundraiser, please contact Ronnie (see below).
 
*** KEEPING CURRENT WITH EVENTS: This is everyone's job.  Please continue to
monitor the FML and Kodo's Kommando list (information on subscribing below),
and Kodo's Web Site (also below) for status reports and news.  If there is
news, you will be notified.
 
If your local paper or television station carries a report on Kodo, Bud has
asked that clippings, tapes, or recordings (or just writing down what you
remember) be sent to the MaFF box for now (see address below).  Please be
sure to include the date that the article or story appeared, the name of the
paper or TV station, and the name of the reporter.  This job is crucial so
that we all know how the story is "playing" and whether there are any
misconceptions that need to be cleared up.
 
*** COMMUNICATIONS AMONG US: If there is anything important or crucial or
new in the case, Bob Jacobs will let you know through the Web site, by
e-mail, or through the FML or Kodo's Kommando list.  Bud Jackson will also
have suggestions on action, directly by e-mail or through Lee.
 
Please be discrete in what you write or recirculate: if you don't want to
see it in the paper or have it dredged up by the prosecution, don't say it.
If you're not sure what is happening, please don't spread rumors or be
equivocal in your statements.  The Internet is a very powerful tool and has
worked well for Kodo, but it has the potential to be very destructive.
 
*** COMMUNICATIONS TO THE WORLD: Bud has asked that we STAY ON MESSAGE and
that this is best done by recognizing that Bob Jacobs is the primary
spokesman.  If you are approached by the media about this case, or have the
opportunity to be on a radio or TV talk show, please try to get Bob Jacobs
on too.  If this is not possible, please contact Bob to be briefed on the
case and what needs to be done.  If you cannot get a hold of Bob, please
contact Lee (e-mail [log in to unmask]) and leave your phone number.
 
From time to time, Bud (or Lee) will send out a general press release or a
"Message of the Day" to help you when talking about Kodo.
 
*** KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON: Your calls and faxes are getting results.  Each
call to the governor, the White House, and the media are heard, each fax is
read.  The weight of this pressure garners more media attention, and more
media attention puts Kodo out there for all to see and makes it more
difficult for the prosecution to slant this case.
 
Please continue to call and fax.  E-mail does not get read.  But when you
call, and when you write, PLEASE be factual.  PLEASE be concise.  PLEASE be
polite and focused.  *** DO NOT LOSE YOUR HEAD OR KODO WILL LOSE HIS ***
 
Please attend rallies or fundraisers.  Call in to any talk shows where Bob
Jacobs appears.  It is very important to show the media and the world that
Kodo's support is solid and that WE WON'T GO AWAY until Kodo is free and
every ferret is treated fairly.
 
*** KEEPING THE FLAME LIT: This issue did not begin with Kodo, nor will it
end with him, whatever the outcome.  Please remember that every year,
hundreds of Kodos die because their state did not have a quarantine law.
 
Kodo is the pet store kit who nipped a customer's finger.  Kodo is the
shelter ferret, and all her cagemates, who were put to death because one of
them scratched someone who was looking at them at a shelter open house.
Kodo is the friendly little ferret out for a walk on a leash when a little
girl walked up and lovingly squeezed too hard.  This happens every day.  The
difference in Kodo's case is that he has an owner willing to fight for him
and friends like you willing to go the limit for him.
 
Please don't stop with Kodo.  We are all in this for the long haul, and
won't stop until all ferrets are safe from kill-and-test.  THIS IS WHAT
KODO'S CASE IS ABOUT.  This is what Bob Jacobs and all of you are fighting
for.
 
**** THE BASIC GUIDELINE IS: EVERYONE HAS A PART AND MUST PLAY THAT PART AS
BEST AS POSSIBLE.  Please don't take away from your important role by trying
to help in another role.  IF EVERYONE PLAYS THEIR PART, THEN COLLECTIVELY
THE WHOLE EFFORT IS WORKING AS BEST AS POSSIBLE ****
 
********
CONTACTS:
 
To send checks for the MEDIA campaign, or ideas for fundraisers: please
contact Ronnie DiComo at <[log in to unmask]>
 
To send checks for the LEGAL fund:
Gloria Davis, Treasurer
GLFA/LAF
27654 Southpointe
Grosse Ile MI 48138
(Make out checks to GLFA/LAF)
Credit card donations: call Bob Jacobs at (517) 777-4807
 
To contact Bud Jackson:
e-mail Lee McKee: [log in to unmask]
 
To send clippings, tapes, "transcripts" of news stories:
   MaFF  ATTN: BUD JACKSON
   P. O. BOX 3123
   WAKEFIELD,  MA  01880
 
To contact Bob Jacobs:  517-777-4807 or <[log in to unmask]>
(please remember that Bob is doing EVERYTHING, from fundraising to press
contacts to conferring with his attorney to keeping us all informed to being
a daddy to his children and remaining ferrets.  Please be respectful of his
time.)
 
To subscribe to Kodo's Kommando's list, e-mail:
<[log in to unmask]> with the words "subscribe kodos-kommandos"
in the message.
 
To subscribe to the FML (ferret mailing list): send e-mail to:
<[log in to unmask]>
Please include your full name in the message and ask to be subscribed.
 
Kodo's Web Site: http://www.kozykingdom.com/kodo
[Posted in FML issue 1965]