sarah... i think they were generalizing...you seem to be a special, sweet, responsible exception to the generalization...HUGS!!...i commend you for that... i think maybe what they meant was that alot of teens buy pets for "status" symbols and others really don't know at that point where their life will be in 5-10 years down the road...or even 2-3 years down the road...it is true that some adults don't know that either... :) also teens are 'soon to be going out on their own'...would the majority of them be responsible about their ferret?...if i remember my "first out of the nest" years...i barely made enought money to feed myself...and for the most part, if it had not been for friends, i would not have been able to eat at all...(it was not the best time of my life...but i also realize it probably is towards the extreme side of the coin) i admit i am an "old folk" and my not know teens nowadays...but i do know they have to grow up and make it in the world on their own...and it is usually a hard road...GENERALLY too hard for a pet that bonds so totally with its person that it is traumatic, and many times fatal, for it to be seperated from them. no statement ever includes everybody, nor excludes everybody...there are always exceptions...and it sounds like you are one of them... i believe they meant the statements as a guide...a rule of thumb...and not as a "cast in concrete" rule...at least i hope they did... HUGS!!! kat ===== KITY=^..^=KAT... ( a.k.a. ...FuzzieMom ) and the krew... Rascal, Sassy, Wolfie, Monkey(Shine), Meeja, Narmy, PopPye, Noodles (Slyk), Charlie, Sandi-Mandi, Hope HollyHeart, & Edison!, "Lucky(13), and Princess!!!!! Remembering Marcel, LittleWhiteGirl & OldGuy...at the Bridge! THE FERRETS' PAGE..."http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/2396" Help Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter...Use I-Give... http://www.iGive.com/html/ssi.cfm?cid=7364&mid=103840 [Posted in FML issue 3068]