Hi all--
 
Well I wrote to the Tonight Show in unofficial behalf of Californians and
suggested that the people from this list would be happy to supply them with
more accurate info than I could, so if I hear from them, I'll pass it on.  I
also suggested they check out this list (so if you get the request BIG, let
them join!) Though I suppose they get too much mail to weed through the fml.
One never knows, though.
 
(Gee, I sent that e-mail about a minute ago and my server just told me I got
mail back from them.  Whadda think . . . who want to bet on "form mail" with
me?)
 
Susan Wenzel asked about styptic powder or some such--it works great.  You
know what else works great?  Regular flour.  Yup.  Real easy to find, too!
I had to use it on my dog when I made her nail bleed :-( and then discovered
the styptic powder got left at the cabin.  She's got black nails, so
clipping is risky businesss.
 
Bryan Hall: Good luck--you're doing the right thing, and doing it well, it
sounds like.  Don't feel bad . . . when I got Mort for Christmas my dad's
exact words were, "What the H*LL do you need another one of those things
for?" And I only had one ferret, before Mort.  But . . . this is the husband
of the woman (my mom <g>> who keeps telling me to put my dog to sleep and
get a better one.  My mutt *is* good, just a bit nervous and hyper in new
situations.  Both parents expressed no sympathy when my last two ferrets
were taken by animal control and euthanized after one of them bit their
care-givers child.  I was destroyed, but my parents thought I should be
relieved to be relieved of the troublesome animals.  Sigh.  I'm 25, too, and
family disapproval is still always disappointing.  Should have heard the
ruckus they raised when I moved out of their house in MN down to VA state
with my boyfriend of (then) 5 months.  It was not pretty.  But hey, 5 yrs
later I'm still with the guy . . . (and they still can't forgive him for
taking me away, even though he brought me back and I finished college and
everything.  Nuff said.
 
Ferrets and dogs . . . I, too, have a pit bull mix, and she's wonderful with
the ferrets.  Loves to play with them, learned quickly that carpet digging
was bad, bad, bad, and stops them every time with a growls and a leap.  The
growl is all bluff, though, as she's never hurt them a bit.  She was raised
with ferrets.  I think any small puppy will grow up well with ferrets, as
long as the pup isn't too much bigger than the ferrets in the beginning.
Harley was pretty little when we got her at 7 wks, and now she's all of 40
lbs (10 of which are completely excess . . . )
 
She seemed happy enough for the year we didn't have ferrets, but accepted
new ones into the house quite joyfully.  The addition of ferrets even cured
the dog of her nervous licking and chewing habits.  No more bacitracin for
the doggy--she's done gnawing herself raw.  That was the main reason we
accepted Pepper-- Harley desperately needed a playmate, but will not
tolerate another dog in the house.  (Handles them fine and play like crazy
at other people's houses--just not hers!) And I'm allergic to cats . . . so
since me and Dave AND Harley were experienced with ferrets, it just seemed
logical to take Pepper.  Then, of course, he needed a playmate . . .
 
Ok, I'm sure I've blathered on for plenty of lines at this point.
 
Later,
 
--Sherri
--Harley (yeah, you just *think* I like those funny smelling weasels--they
  only live because they're faster than me and they have sharper teeth.)
--Pepper (Do I like dogs?  What's a dog?  HSSSSS! Oh, that's a dog. Nope,
  don't care for them much.  I'll just keep my distance.)
--Mort (Dog?  I'm 10 wks old, and I've never seen one.  Oh, that's a dog.
  Ok.  I'll bite its armpits . . . and worm my way under its fat belly . . .
  and chase it . . . and steal its food . . .and scratch its back, sure,
  I like dogs. Hey Pepper, why don't you like dogs?  It's just a big kind
  of stupid ferret . . . )
[Posted in FML issue 1831]