>From:    Megan Dahlem <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: you have got to be kidding me......
>I wonder how many ferret owners out there are female.
 
The AFA did a survey a while back to determine the "typical" ferret owner.
It was a female professional and if I remember on the youngish side may
in her 30s.  Don't have the resources to verify that precisely though.
 
In general the ferret organizations due tend to have female domination
and in some cases that causes problems for males but not the types of
problems alluded to by Edward.  I've never seen any job involving ferrets
that wasn't as well performed by those of either sex as the other.
 
>From:    Sharon Pease <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Oh, boy..
>I don't understand why this type of thing is allowed through.  It seems
>anything is fair game as long as the word "ferret" is included somewhere
>in the post.  Unbelievable...
 
In defense of BIG (did you exoect that ol' boy?) he does filter the worst
of messages.  Sometimes I disagree with his decisions but I think he is
trying.  Having moderated the Ferret Forum Mailing List I know the kinds
of things that some folks try to submit.  <shudder>
 
>At our shelter, we call this "socialization".  Why don't you try it
>sometime?  It might improve your disposition!
 
His or the ferrets?  Both?  Yup.  Both.  <grin>
 
>From:    Kim Schilling <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Mr. Lipinski's a funny guy!
 
You slipped into the points I was trying to make in another thread...
 
>Having been guilty of it myself, I can say some shelter workers are too
>hard on people.  We've become too tough skinned (except, of course, with
>the animals).  Do I have an answer to these dilemmas?  Not a chance.
>But I sure would like to talk to the shelter people who don't experience
>these feelings and frustrations on occasion.
 
We all feel them.  But its a matter of perspective.  We who shelter will
deal with the worst of society at a higher frequesncy than most since we
are inviting them to reach out to us.  Its not easy but we need to remember
that although it seems impossible at times we really are only dealing with
a very very small percentage of the ferrets.  Most are in stable homes.
Remember those ferrets and that what we are trying to do is remove ferrets
from bad situations and put them nto the stable ones.  This really is a
powerfully positive thing we do so dwell on that good and shed the bad we
see at the entrance side of things.
 
I've just atarted reading a book on and by the Dali Lama concerning
happiness.  So far I've already learned a lot and I'm still just at the
beginning of the book.  Its not really ferret related except the point I
made above is kind of drawn from the book.  "The Art of Happiness: A
Handbook for Living" co written by Howard C Cutler.  Half price at
amazon.com - think about it.
 
-bill
--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2743]