Chana is right, sometimes people say they have allergies when in reality
they just don't like the animals or an idea of having one, or maybe they
might think they have an allergy to maybe an event where they sneezed a
lot or something after entering a house full of dogs or cats... so they
generalize (without actually making an allergy test!) thinin that it IS the
animals (and not a very dirty carpet full of tuffs of fur and insects or
chemicals or whatever!) and from then on just start staying away from all
sorts of furry creatures!
 
If the problem is that the person really just doesn't like the animal (or
he might find animals ok but not want to have one, thinks it'll be stinky
of doesn't wanna take care of it when you're away) is that if you take a
ferret there as a test, that he can actually start saying his nose's
itching or that he "can feel it" (the "allergy").
 
Now about real allergies... my boyfriend loves animals, especially cats
(he had in the past two--for years since he was a kid) but at one point
he started having breathing problems and the doctors tested it and it WAS
a animal-fur allergy!  It got to the point that he even starting having
asthma when exposed to houses that had dogs and cats.  Now, he's taken
meds for many years because of it and he's doing some allergy treatment
(regarding hay- fever too) so we hope he'll soon be free from the worst of
it... Needless to say that before getting my two cuties Logan + Leeloo we
did a lot of thinking and he was put to test at the ferret shelter, where
there were 46 ferrets and many on fur-shedding period, and it was really
extreme in there, but he didn't feel anything!  And he hasn't had ANY
reactions since either!  I mean, the ferrets live with me and he doesn't
go to my place everyday but when he's there he plays with them and we take
them for walks too together, so we can say he's not allergic to ferrets!
(and Logan's shedding big time, so even if he doesn't see him my clothes
always have a lot of "Logan" LOL).
 
Anyway, good luck with the roomate and if you do get a ferret that you
all live together in a healthy happy family!  (don't forget to show your
roomate all info about ferrets and how to really make the apartment
ferret-safe!)
 
Take care,
Chris
[Posted in FML issue 3470]