Have to repair a dress I'd hoped to wear today. At least the rips aren't huge and are in an area not likely to show. Can't say the same for a green one with a bodice that's now mesh. What the heck am I talking about? It's more WHO: Ashling. If closets aren't closed tight she goes in and climbs clothing to the top, then she either does what Steve calls a nose drop where she lets her self fall till she decides to catch some clothing, or she climbs down, or she hooks in her front claws ONLY and lets herself slide down in her best imitation of Michelle Yeoh from "Tomorrow Never Dies" -- with poster-child results. Oh, well, Ashling is dearer than dresses, or blouses, or curtains, or... Hey, Michael, glad to see you appear again! Bob, your write up in today's FML was WONDERFUL!!!!! Oh, most of my lines will appear at home only but: Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i". Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i". Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i". Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i". Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i". Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i". Bryan Coffey is not spelled with an "i"... Jim, we ALL Make mistakes. If it was intentional you could have reason to beat yourself up, but it WASN'T: you took precautions, had a vet check, are kind as the day is long, help ferrets each day, and you tried, tried, and tried. Heck, there are some people in this world who don't try, never help others, don't use vets as often as they should, are nasty, etc. etc., etc. I don't see as you need to apologize publicly. Mistakes are there to learn from and hopefully we all learn. That's all. In relation to lung diseases/disorders we've encountered ONLY two aside from the very contagious things or cardiomyopathy related stuff. When Meeteetse had her pneumonia and pleurosy she was coughing at times other than when was gorging (very unusual) and she sounded like a milder version of how people sound with the croup -- that braying cough. The cough stopped when at the vet and nothing strange could be heard in chest, but we knew it was NOT common at all so had her x-rayed. Her chest was just plain FULL of fluid. Had to start intensive antibiotics and Lasix, and schedule an emergency ultrasound. Ruffle used to have asthma; she would pant, turn PALE, get tired, act like she hurt (grumpy, etc.), and sometimes wheeze. I suspect that symptoms will vary form individual to individual like they do in humans. My asthma sounds like some peoples' bronchitis sometimes, and I have had pneumonia with pleurosy that was thought to be bronchitis till I coughed a lot of blood, but also had influenza that the physicians' thought was likely to be pneumonia when I was nowhere near that sick. I DOUBT that you will find ANY clear cut distinctions. Basically, if a ferret has trouble breathing get it to the vet ASAP, do chest x-rays, listen, learn, be glad if it's minor, and take it from there. That's been our experience with our busyness, and now I have to go spoil Meeteetse who says that she is the center of the universe. (Aren't they all? Don't they all?) [Posted in FML issue 2971]