Hi all--
 
I'm a few fml's behind, so forgive the lateness of this post.
 
First, to whoever it was that anonymously e-mailed Maggie about being
horrible to "pawn off" Roxie to Cheryl, you should be ashamed of yourself.
You knew nothing about Maggie's position, and you OBVIOUSLY don't know
Cheryl.  Don't speak from where you don't have experience.
 
I run a shelter, and if anyone, for ANY reason, can't care for a ferret
themself, they are welcome to bring their ferret to me to provide care for.
I kindly appreciate the owner paying for treatment (which I am under the
impression Maggie is still doing) but even if they can't pay, the ferret
comes to me.  I am in the business of helping ferrets in need, and Maggie
needed help.  In fact, it's in my adoption contracts that if the adoptive
party can't provide medical attention to a ferret for any reason, they are
REQUIRED to bring the ferret back to me.  Maggie did nothing wrong in this
situation.  This is what shelters are for.
 
Cheryl (who is on the FML but doesn't read it as often as she'd like) is a
very kind and selfless person.  I have only met her once, but I know her
husband Chris pretty well.  These folks would sell their left arm to help a
ferret.  I know that the thought never entered Cheryl's mind that it was
wrong for Maggie to ask for Cheryl to help with Roxie.  It wasn't your place
to flame Maggie, or to try to speak for Cheryl.  You don't run a shelter or
work with one--I know this by the nature of your e-mail.  If I am wrong and
you do, boy, are you in the WRONG business.
 
Next: To Todd, who completely disagreed with my post about caging your
ferrets.  I am not flaming you here, and you did not flame me.  You
constructively criticized my beliefs, and I respect that.  However, I still
disagree with you.  In fact, you reminded me of one of my biggest reasons
why you must cage your ferrets!
 
What would anyone do in the event of a fire in their home, if their ferret
or worse ferretS were god-knows-where in the house?  Sure they *usually*
sleep in the same place but not always.  At least if they are confined to a
cage or in a ferret room they are easier to find.  If you've never
experienced a house fire you just have no idea how quickly it goes from a
flicker to out of control fire.  You literally do not have even 90 seconds
to go searching for your ferret.  Cage your ferrets, please!
 
Also, Todd, you might have misread my post a bit (or perhaps I wasn't
clear).  I don't have any problem with confining your ferrets to a room
rather than a cage, under one condition.  That room must be as ferret
proofed as a room can get.  No clutter, no holes, no electrical cords if
possible.  In fact, *MY* ferrets are kept in a ferret room.  They each have
cages, and they are all caged part of every day.  This is because at the
time I have 5 "shifts" of ferrets a day that must get runtime...they don't
get along with one another.  If I only had one group of ferrets they would
not be caged, they'd have a cage to sleep in but have free reign of the
room.  HOWEVER, this is only due to the fact that the ferret room is
basically a very large cage.  No tables, no cords, no windows, no cracks, no
appliances.  It's just 4 walls, a carpet, cages, and *safe* toys.  There is
absolutely nothing else in that room and absolutely no way for them to
escape it.  Sooo, I hope that cleared that up a bit.
 
BTW, where in gods name did that penis theory come from?  Man, if your
ferrets are equipped enough that it can get caught between the bars of the
cage, you should be calling Guinness book of records <giggle>
 
I'm not angered by your post, Todd, nor is this a flame.  I feel that I must
stress that because recently some people (person, actually) who I have
responded to on the FML have taken it upon themselves to believe that I was
not "courteous" and that burns me because I am a very, very nice person.  If
I am going to flame you, I will say mean things and you'll know it, and
actually I would probably do a real flame via private e-mail out of respect.
The first part of this message (to anonymous Maggie flamer) can consider my
response a flame.  But if I take the time to respond to someone's opinion,
and it happens to differ from theirs, that's not a flame, it's my opinion.
I get misunderstood enough in my day to day life, I can't deal with being
misunderstood in cyberspace by people that I consider friends.
 
Finally, if anyone out there is interested in me posting the highlights of
an article I wrote about how to protect your ferrets in the case of a fire,
e-mail me privately and I will then post.
 
Kymberlie Becker
Director, Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association
"Forget Puppy Love...There's nothing Greater than Ferret Love!" TM
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/ferretlady
 
[Moderator's note: Actually, there are several instances documented in
prior FMLs of ferrets' penises being damaged in cage bars.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 1939]