>From:    "Michael \"Mick\" Schmid" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Can we please have more happy sories/good news!
>I have to say that I am totally in agreement with Alicia.  There is far
>too much bad news on this list.  I've been giving hard copies of this
>list to a computer deficient co-worker who is considering buying a ferret.
>He's starting to wonder if all ferrets do is get sick and die after costly
>medical bills.
 
To be fair, the FML also has a fair amount of non-illness-related stories,
poems, some fiction, meeting notices, and "My ferret did a funny thing
yesterday ..." type of stories.  The FML is a sounding wall - and sometimes
a wailing wall for the ferret community
 
>Now, I'm not saying that no one should post about the death or illness of
>one of their beloved fuzzies, I will always be there to listen and offer
>support to those in need.  But we do need to have more "happy" content.
 
Well, aside from this complaint, where is your positive, uplifting daily
contribution?  This is an "everyone complains about the weather, but no one
ever does anything about it" type of situation - you can do something about
it every day.  Post a funny ferret story about what your ferrets did the
day before.  Share your funny ferret experiences.  The FML is about sharing
what concerns each poster - if you are concerned about presenting a
happier, more uplifting picture of daily ferret life, post those stories.
 
>Think of what a prospective owner might think if he was to be on this list,
>some days it's positively morbid!
 
You know something - maybe that is a good thing.  Maybe more prospective
ferret caregivers should take the time to realize that there is a serious
financial and emotional responsibility for caring for a living being.
Having ferrets isn't all fun and games.  It is a serious business that
needs to be taken seriously.  Too many people want to get ferrets on the
cheap - well, the truth is that ferrets aren't cheap.  There is a high cost
to having ferrets - good basic care is costly, catastrophic illness is more
costly still, and the emotional cost to ferret care givers can be enormous.
The returns are fantastic, to be sure.  I start every day with the happy
greetings of my furry friends, have an enthusiastic welcome from them when
I come home, and fuzzy hugs and kisses from them the last thing before I
end each day.  Prospective ferret care givers - and that is the correct
phrasing, we own inanimate things but provide care for living beings - need
to be willing to accept everything about sharing their lives with a ferret.
They need to be willing to pay the financial and emotional expenses of
sharing their lives with a ferret.  If the FML gives them pause and makes
them think twice, that's not such a bad thing.  Maybe they really aren't
ready to take that responsibility.
[Posted in FML issue 2970]