well, i may have the chance to write an article for the Life section of the
Toronto Star on the subject of ferrets as pets in the light of the recent
incident in which an infant was seriously injured by a ferret.  the ferret
*apparently* escaped from it's cage while the infants mother slept and
mualed the infant in it's crib, however i heard on the radio that the
mother has since been charged with child neglect, so i'm not too sure what
happenned.
 
but the point is this: i'd like opinions and possibly contact phone #'s
from breeders or shelters (Randy, i'm looking at you!:), or from people who
have experience with ferrets and young children- i'd like to be able to get
some positive stories about ferrets and kids.
 
i plan to simply take the tone that no pet, of any species, no matter how
reliable, should be left unnatended with an infant or young child.  i also
plan on giving my standard explanation of why some ferrets nip: their mouth
is their best instrument for exploring, that is how they play together, it
hurts because ferrets have tough skins, if a ferret is frightened he will
often bite in percieved self defence.  i would also like to mention the
effect of babyhood spent in poor conditions at a ferret mill, and the
trauma of being shipped *very* young, but i'm not yet sure if i will.
 
now, i'm not yet absolutely positive that i will be writing this article
for them, but i thought that i would make this appeal for input early,
because last time they wanted a finished article in less than two days...
 
thanks!
siani
[Posted in FML issue 2735]