Heather's post regarding blazes and possible genetic predisposition to
health problems would be interesting to explore.  I have a 1 yr. old
silver blaze who is deaf and has the physical characteristics of one who
carries the Waardenburg gene.  He wrestles and plays with the best of
them, but has always had less stamina than any other kit I've ever seen.
He plays hard for a much shorter time than the others and likes to sleep
a lot.  I think part of the sleeping also has to do with his being deaf;
noises do not disturb his naps.  He is also cursed with allergies that are
really debilitating if I don't dose him with Benedryl at the first sign of
an allergy attack.  Luckily, I've learned that if he acts irritable or he
starts getting red, puffy eyes, it's time for Benedryl.  I've also narrowed
down that Tide detergent on anything he comes into contact with will set
him off.  (People must think I'm nuts when I ask them what kind of
detergent they use before I'll let them anywhere near him - oh, well).
Like Heather, I do wonder if he'll have a predisposition to other health
problems as a result of being a blaze or carrying the Waardenburg gene.
It would be interesting to compare feedback from others with blazes.
 
Licensing ferrets is also an interesting topic.  I would have to agree with
the argument that it hasn't done much for better treatment of dogs, and in
my opinion, government already regulates too much in our lives and very
badly in many instances.  There aren't any easy answers to the problem of
irresponsible ferret owners; there will always be irresponsible people who
won't even properly care for their human kids.  I think education is the
best hope we have.
 
I would have to disagree with the comparison of ferrets being easier to
care for than cats, and I think it would be a detriment to ferret education
if they were classified as such.  I have owned dogs and cats all my life,
ferrets for ten years, and I gotta tell ya, if I were going to compare
ferrets to anything, it would be to a human toddler.  Although my house
was already child-proofed when I got ferrets, I soon learned that to
ferret-proof a house, you have to slide around on the floor on your belly
to see what they see and they'll still show you what you missed.  I don't
remember ever having to put Plexiglas on the bottom half of screens for my
cats, nor hang anything made of rubber from the ceiling.  I can leave my
cats and dogs alone in the house when I'm not here, but the little furkids
have to be in their room or cage without supervision or they will find some
way to get in trouble, just like a toddler.  Personally, I find this trait
to be part of their charm, but some people wouldn't, so they should be made
aware of it before they make a commitment to a furkid.  Not trying to be
politically correct, just my opinion based on my own experience.
 
Posted anonymously to protect the innocent in CA
[BE]
[Posted in FML issue 2839]