Congrats on the 10 years of the FML!!!
 
Even though I have been an FML subscriber longer then most people here,
I'm still a newcomer to those that have been here since the beginning.
I have read and posted to the FML for little over three years now. (It was
October-November of 1994 when I first subscribed.)
 
Much has changed since I first started reading the FML -
    - a new moderator,
    - over 2000 more subscribers get the FML daily
    - 4-5 times as many posts in an average day
    - states like Massachusetts and Michigan now have legal ferret
      ownership
    - the numbers of ferret knowledgeable peoples and vets have swelled
    - although FML readers have worked for the benefit of ferrets for a
      long now, the FML has reached a level of membership that allows
      people to respond en masse to problems and disasters. The FML has
      reacted to: the Humane Society stance and Rachel Lamb's comments on
      Good Morning America about ferrets, Fredonia rescues, black-footed
      ferret release programs, Kodo, Spokane, legalization efforts in
      Massachusetts, Michigan, and California, rabies shedding studies,
      and more.
    - US rabies shedding studies and quarrantine periods for ferrets
 
Things that have stayed the same -
    - the quality of moderation
    - the love and caring expressed by FML readers for their ferrets
    - the love and caring expressed by FML readers for other people
    - the fun and zaniness that all of us ferret people must have
    - the quality of medical and scientific information shared
    - the tears shed over loss and tragedy
    - the narrow mindedness and ignorance of those blocking CA legalization
      efforts
    - regular discussions about MF, what's the best food/what's not,
      genetics and health issues, large breeders vs. small breeders,
      petstore pros and cons, etc.
 
I want to thank all who have added to the FML in the three years I've been
here.  I honestly believe that the FML has helped me and my husband to
improve the quality of life for our ferrets.  And our lives as well.
 
I hope that the FML lives for 10 more years!  Hopefully in that time we'll
see an end to many of the problems that still plague us and our ferrets!! :)
 
Viva la FML!
 
-kim, squirt (zzzzzzzz....), pippi (SOCKS! I NEED SOCKS!), atlas (kibble-
 kibble-munch-kibble), and jinx (my little baby girl)
 
Kimberly Burkard     |             _    Everything I needed to know in life,
Eastman Kodak Company|      _____C .._. I learned from my ferret:
Rochester, New York  | ____/     \___/  Frolic and dance for joy often, have
[log in to unmask]    |<____/\_---\_\    no fear or worries, and enjoy life.
[Posted in FML issue 2164]