Hi, I have not posted in forever, but I had to comment.
 
I am sorry if you think that giving a gift to ADV research is not giving
a gift to the ferret.  I put their faces and a little bio about them to
share.  Some of you have written me and still want to send them something
in addition to making a donation to research and I have gone along with
that.  I didn't put them on the tree because they needed something.  I'm
not a shelter, I can take care of their needs.  What would make me and my
munchkins happier is to help ALL of the ADV+ ferrets by donating, even if
it's only a dollar.  Like Lynn and Danee so well put, what if they find a
cure, or vaccine - what a NICE thought!  Something I pray for every day!
 
It may not make you feel as good to send a donation than send a gift to
the ferret, especially at Christmas time, but please reconsider.  You
would look at this entirely different if you had gone through what I have
gone through these last two years.
 
We currently have 12 ferrrets and know that 8 of them are positive.
Summer the oldest around 7 years is not in good health with many "normal"
older ferret illnesses on top of being ADV+.  I also have 3 kits that were
bred around ADV with ADV+ parents and assume they are positive even though
they have not been tested yet.  Oliver has shed the virus twice, which is
why they are ALL positive.  I worry about them every day when any little
thing goes wrong, never knowing if I am going to lose another one.
 
The first year I lost 4 in 5 months time and Pooh developed total
paralysis.  We thought we were going to lose him too.  I'm hoping he makes
it past the 18 to 24 months they say after showing signs of the disease.
I've seen them get sick and die within 3 days with no prior warning.  I've
struggled with others to keep them eating.  I see them decline over a
period of time.  I've seen them waste away in spite of my efforts.  Even
though they look healthy, you just don't know what is going wrong on the
inside.
 
Please revisit the ADV giving tree and pick a cute ferret face, make that
donation in honor of all ferrets, especially the ones that have suffered
from this disease.
 
Http://www.mkaresq.com/adv1.htm
 
Mary and The 12 Munchkins
Chico, Harley, Sadie, Pooh, Woozel, Oliver, Funny, Brandy, Summer, Bosco,
Tasha and Roxy
 
In loving memory of Tunny, Rowdy, Wheeler, Emily, Fruity, Bootsie, Daisy,
Buffy and Scooter all waiting at the bridge
[Posted in FML issue 3632]