Well, we are making progress with Seven of Six. In the last 24 hours she actually joined the rest in a group activity, slept throughout an entire night with others, and the fights with Ashling are now down to pulling out fur and screaming a lot. It's taking her forever, but she'll get there. She trusts Glueball and Meeteetse completely; they are her guides, and trusts Jumpstart mostly. With the rest it's all a matter of getting improvements. Just to get a Breeders Wish List off to a start here are a few of the things I'd like to see as standard practises. PLEASE, add your contributions, too, here on the FML for all to learn: 1. Line tracking so that lines with genetic problems can be found easily and sterilized, 2. Retirement homes for those who are past breeding, 3. An end to descenting except when essential for problems like infections since it can cause rectal problems, 4. Only vets used for surgical procedures, 5. Higher shipping ages than any of the large breeders use (Private breeders here, PLEASE, suggest a reasonable age, 6. No fur farming of ferrets, 7. No mink kept on facility (ADV risk), 8. Testing before breeding to make sure that ADV is not present in breeding stock, 9. Loving interactions and handling. There are a LOT of things which could be added to this list, so would you, PLEASE, add your ideas publicly, and save the ideas you like? At the end could people post addresses for ALL the major breeders so that they can learn what people want in letters designed to suggest directions for them. It might not do a lot of good, but if even one or two of the final ideas you each send them is taken up by each one then that would be actual progress and I think everyone will enjoy that. So, what do YOU want to see as part of general breeder standards? Steve's dad actually was measured yesterday for innersoles so that his feet won't keep him from walking. He still isn't interested in learning how to watch his diet more -- thinks that things between "real" meals don't really count. My dad is doing MUCH better since his carotid surgery and has stopped having strokes. Both Uncle Bill and Uncle Frank are more comfy with medication changes. Everything else around here is the same as it has been. Never DID get that refund check that CCB (le Club ... Beaute) said they'd sent Fed Ex, and Fed Ex says the tracking number(s) given are not any they find at all in their records. After 7 months of them never sending the gifts or refund I am getting irate. Your sweet wishes helped on the important things, I guess, so that's what matters; the ICC, Postal Service, etc. can handle the other if not cleared up tomorrow. Dang. Bill, you can pull some of this if you want or notice -- am venting.) [Posted in FML issue 2964]