Hi Furtive People, My wife and I are refugees from the California "war." We recently moved to NW Oregon, so that I could feel safe with my ferrets (and for a number of other good reasons, including getting away from that boring CA weather). Now I can walk them outside without fear of someone calling the F&G, or the cops, say the word "ferret" in public without fear of exposing myself as an illegal ferret owner, etc. I used to work for a Fish & Game department as a biological aide. The fiasco in CA sure put a new spin on that old job. California claims to be the leader state, but its ban on ferret ownership (guardianship) demonstrates just how far behind it is in some ways (there are many others, as well, but I wont get into them on this list). We're owned by two 6 month-olds, born on nearly the same day, but from two different litters (Thanks Chris and Kristy!). Kasumi is our "big-bear" sable, and our queen who's obviously the boss and a bit full of herself--she does show poses all the time, looking so beautiful. Nabiki is our tiny, nimble spaz siamese, high-strung, loves to play and be obnoxious, and, I hate to say it, her face is so narrow she almost looks like a stretched rat--her eyes bulge so much its seems they'll pop out of her skull at times. They're both adorable, even when they're bad, and our lives are much fuller for having them. I've befriended many animals, including dogs, wolf-hybrids, gerbils, guinea pigs, fish, black widows, lizards, parakeets, finches, and must say that ferrets are something special indeed (though I do really miss my trail dogs). Thanks for your time. Wolf, Silven, Kasumi and li'l Nabiki [Posted in FML issue 2954]