Dear Ferret Folks-

Perhaps I seem like a clown for saying I wanted to leave the FML, and
then saying I wanted to take a break, and ...here I am. I'm here
because, well, sitting in silence is doing me tremendous damage. And
apparently people are still posting about this every day. I get sent
e-mails every day, snips of what people said. Posts people are sending
supporting me. I still have an FML membership because after I canceled
mine my husband wrote BIG and said he darn well wanted his own FML
membership, thank you very much. And we only have the one computer.

This whole business has me in tears on and off all day, every day.
People say it's not about judging me as a person, but oh, yeah, it is.
At least I know I made my mark in the world. I am the most hated woman
on the FML, ever. That takes work.I would like a bronze plaque, at some
point saying that.

I have a question that is hurting me and hurting me and I would really
like to see it answered by the people who believe that I am just
irresponsibly feeding ferrets to dogs on a regular basis. (for fun? I
dunno.)

Regardless of any misunderstanding going around the net, my two ferrets
were killed by two different dogs in two different households. The
first was killed when my landlord left a door connecting her apartment
to ours open. She knew never to do this. She did it anyway. And Switch
went downstairs silently, and was killed by the landlord's dog. My
husband and I reacted by *moving*.

Two years later, France the Fricken Pigmy Hedgehog died from natural
causes. She was old when I got her, and she had an incurable condition
known as "wobbly hog." It is uniformly fatal. Despite rumors to the
contrary, she was *not* killed by a dog.

And now, three years after my landlord's dog killed Switch, my dog
Allis killed Ping. In the eleven years that we had Allis, she never
hurt a single one of our companion animals, large or small. Not the
cow, the sheep, the potbellies, the cats, the turkeys, the chickens,
the ducks, the chickens, the hedgehogs, another ferret, or a person.
No violence against out companion animals. None.

Here is my question. How was I supposed to know that Allis would kill?
It is ridiculous to believe that having seen another dog kill a ferret
years ago, she herself would someday kill. That's not just my
assertion, it is the assertion of many people here on the FML. Many
of whom know lots more about dogs than I do.

How was I supposed to know? A completely different dog, no history of
violence against any members of our peaceable kingdom in eleven years.
So many of you claim that you would certainly have known. How?

I have done what I can here to protect Todd and Puma. There is no more
unsupervised play time with Allis, ever. Allis does not get any bones
or treats when the ferrets are out because she likes to eat them on the
floor, and Todd wants to explore her food. Allis is no longer allowed
to play with the ferrets, ever. This puzzles her. She is not used to
being told "bad dog" when she wants a little paw play. If Todd bugs her
by being inquisitive, I speak to her, call her a good dog, and then
give her a treat for putting up with him. Allis is getting worked up
for her pain issues. I think she was suffering a lot more than anyone
knew...and then Ping bit her.

These things are only reasonable.

But how could I reasonably have known that Allis was going to make her
first kill in eleven years? What were the signs? What were the obvious
indications? How would *you*, personally have known? Be specific. Don't
mention my writing. Don't involve the issue of my "fame." How was the
answer so clear and in my face obvious that I should, without question,
have known that Allis was going to kill a ferret?

How?

Alexandra in MA

Most Hated Woman in FML History. (Make sure you spell my name right on
that plaque.)

[Posted in FML 6094]