I thought someone would have posted this by now - I've been watching and
waiting so I wouldn't be redundant.  But I haven't seen anything yet, so...
 
Last Wed. I was getting up to leave for choir rehearsal, and was just about
to turn off the TV's 6:00 news, when all of a sudden I saw a sable ferret
face grace the screen!  It's was KARE-11's Creature Feature, which they air
at the end of their 6:00 news program, I think every Wed.  Anyway, I'm not
sure where the handler was from, but it was a 2-year old named Duncan who
was just a sweetheart.  He was a little squirmy at first, but after a few
seconds calmed down and just stared at the camera.  The woman was fairly
well informed and didn't provide any misguided information.  She mentioned
that ferrets are the 3rd most popular pet in America, and that they have
been domesticated for about 3000 years.  They talked about how they were
often used for hunting and clearing barns of mice, and that they can still
be used for that purpose in Great Britain, but that hunting with a ferret
is illegal in the US.  They also talked briefly about the black footed
ferret, and that it is a distant relative to the domestic ferret.  She was
careful to point out that ferrets are entirely domesticated.  When asked
why people like them so much, she said she wasn't sure as she didn't have
one, but people seem to think they are great pets.  She gave a "word of
warning" (I was waiting for a comment about biting here) that they require
a lot of care, that you have to ferret-proof your house, and that they have
special diseases that they need to be vaccinated for.  The entire time
they had ferret facts at the bottom of the screen, including that they are
illegal in Bloomington and Burnsville, MN, and "not welcome" in Mpls.
 
Overall, I thought it was a great bit that pointed out ferret basics and
wasn't misleading.  In fact, she made an effort to dispel misbeliefs about
ferrets!  And Duncan was a perfect ferret ambassador - the male anchor was
quite impressed with him!
 
Kudos to KARE-11!  The Creature Feature is always a neat informative bit,
and this time is was exceptionally fun!
 
Quick cute story: We had a party for my co-workers on Fri., and one of them
brought his 3 year old daughter, Lindsay.  She loves animals, so we took
her up to see Chumley and Tennessee, and she LOVED them.  She was great
with them - never grabbed at them, only petted and watched.  And the
ferrets were fantastic with her and all of my co-workers!  Sweet, cuddley
and cute!  The funniest moments were watching Lindsay watch them as we let
them run on a leash outside, and listening to her ask everyone if she could
take them upstairs to "show them the Parrots." Thanks to our wonderful
ferrets for being their own perfect little ambassadors!
[Posted in FML issue 2666]