I want something cleared up in relation to a pers. com. I had telling
me about this:
 
Aug. 1999 "Pet Product News", trade publication for the pet industry, by
Fancy Publications:
 
"Most people aren't aware that ferrets can spread rabies in their saliva."
 
attributed to Mary van Dahm
 
Now I can NOT even BEGIN to IMAGINE Mary EVER writing such a thing.  Could
people who know Mary talk with her to find out how this happened, and why
her name has been damaged this way?  I am sure that Mary is well aware that
this is grossly inaccurate and would NEVER write it as it was presented.
Sure, hypothetically there is an incredibly small chance that rabies COULD
be spread in such a situation; but of course it has NEVER been recorded as
happening ANYWHERE in the world.  (Basically I am saying "Never say "never"
for the future since some people really DO get hit by lightening three
times or win the lottery twice so odds can be beaten, but the past does
point to "never" in the records, worldwide, so far and that's a LOT of
records.) I am also CERTAIN that Mary HAS read the CDC results and the
European ones; she's too responsible to have not done so.  If that's not
clear enough I do NOT think that Mary wrote this as it was presented.  The
problems remain: 1.  WHO DID make it sound so horrid and inaccurate?  2.
What sorts of other dangerous errors are out there?  3.  Will such
dangerous errors continue to hurt ferrets and ferret folks because the
creator(s) of this clap-trap are still able to continue in this manner?  4.
What can WE do to STOP such seriously damaging inaccuracy?
 
It seems like there are only THREE ways this could have happened.  Either
Mary did do it which I don't even begin to believe, or an editor at Fancy
rewrote it this way, or Fancy's printers had one hell of a damaging error.
Anyone know which one or know of another way it could happen?  I don't and
I write (even though it doesn't read like I do when I go too fast or am
ill).
 
I want ACCURATE INFORMATION to go out to the pet stores, to owners, to
prospective owners, to anyone thinking of ferrets in terms of legislation,
to those who sell ferret products, to shelter folks, etc.  ACCURACY is in
ALL of our interests.  This sentence HURTS US ALL and HURTS OUR FERRETS!
So, what can we do about those who publish or spread clap-trap?  How can we
get accuracy?
 
[Later P.S:]
 
Note in case you don't know what a pers. com. is: I was told about this in
a conversation.  Have NOT seen it myself.  Pers. com. stands for "personal
communication" as anyone who has written or edited scientific or tech
papers knows.
 
The item has been described as being in the trade publication from Fancy
(NOT from Crunchy Concepts, i.e. NOT from Modern Ferret, and the Mary is
DIFFERENT Mary from the one who edits Modern Ferret).  I mentioned it to
someone hwo is looking it up and he got the two Marys confused and said
"Mary would never do that!" which is actually true of both Marys, I'm sure,
so I figured I'd make that extra clear!  (My suspicion is it's an editorial
error, but that's ONLY a suspicion.)
[Posted in FML issue 2791]