More on hazards:
I am pet-sitting 3 ferrets and one cat this week.  75% of this population
is very well-behaved.  However, one little ferret whose name shall not be
mentioned, crawled up *inside* the stove the other day--I could *hear*
her, but couldn't see where she was or reach her.  Fortunately she
emerged again from a *tiny* opening under the cabinets, which is good,
because I wouldn't want to have to take their kitchen apart while they're
on vacation...
 
My 2 cents on ECE:
This may seem unrelated, but it reminds me a lot of when feline leukemia
really hit certain areas hard, right before the vaccine was developed.  I
had a number of cats who died from it, though it seemed pretty arbitrary --
it wasn't necessarily the older ones.  I know the vaccine isn't anywhere
near 100% effective, but things seem to have died down quite a bit (knock
on wood).  I guess it's also simliar to when parvo went rampant in the dog
population.  Anyone out there have any comments on this in relation to ECE?
 
Moderating the FML...
And finally, some thoughts on what goes into moderating the FML...I know
I just take it for granted that the FML will magically appear on my
computer each day.  I've learned more about ferrets from reading this
list than from anywhere else.  I also feel I've made a lot of friends
from the FML; some are people I don't correspond with, but I feel I know
them and their ferrets anyway; others I write to, but may never meet in
person; and some folks I've had the very good fortune to actually meet.
Some of these new friends live only a few miles away--living in an FFZ, I
never dreamed there were other people nearby who also love ferrets!  Not
only is this helping our (ongoing) efforts to get ferrets legalized, but
we can exchange petsitting, socialize, etc.
 
I also know that the FML *doesn't* just magically appear by itself.  While
some days I can barely keep up with reading it, moderating it means that
*all* the messages must be scanned before the list goes out (anyone who
reads the unmoderated rec.pets lists knows that there are people out there
who are sick enough to take delight in describing cruelty to animals in
great detail).  Each issue must be scanned, every night, whether the
moderator feels like it or not--plus addressing formatting issues,
subscriptions/ unsubscriptions, answering other questions, etc.
 
Anyway, I don't want to go on *too* much but I think Bill does a really
wonderful job and I know that a lot of work and care and time goes into
moderating the FML.
 
[Moderator's note: Thanks.  My biggest regret (and the FMLs greatest
joy?) is probably that I don't have time to post much since I'm busy
moderating, but it's all worth it in the end.  BIG]
 
("Yeah, and we wouldn't have been able to organize our union or exchange
personal logs for the Fer Federation Starships if there wasn't an FML."
--Ralph, Cinderella & Norm)
[Posted in FML issue 1248]