I seldom post, but I would like to participate in the "positive" challenge. I guess it's my way of paying tribute to people like Dr. Williams, Bob C, BIG, the shelter operators, as well as people like me who are under the magic spell of ferrets and share their stories. Being owned by ferrets in CA is lonely. There aren't many people who understand just how special these little balls of fur are. I'm sure many of my friends secretly think I'm just a little "strange"; my family knows how very precious my little ones are to me and are very good at humoring me. Reading the FML has made being a ferret lover seem less lonely. It's nice to know that my house is not the only house that is decorated with clear plastic tubing and bedding in corners where litter boxes won't fit. It's reassuring to know that other people dread taking vacations because being separated from the little devils feels like going through what drug withdrawals must feel like. Although painful, it helps to know that the loss of a much loved ferret leaves the same huge, gaping hole in other's hearts as it has mine. When I think back to what I knew about ferrets 11 years ago when my first two put the ferret spell on me, I am amazed they survived to be 7 years old. Without the FML, I would not know about duck soup which is what saved little Cleo when she arrived here nothing more than patches of fur and bones and refusing to eat. I would not have known that Rusty had adrenal disease from personality and urinating changes before he ever lost any fur, which enabled me to have him treated in the very early stages. Without the FML, I would have missed the valuable input regarding deaf ferrets which has undoubtedly made Pup's life easier. I would not have known the proper dosage of Benadryl for his allergies, or even that he could have Benadryl. Without the FML, I would not have the knowledge I need to seek out a truly ferret knowledgeable vet in California because here, you NEED to know that the distemper shot they're getting is Fervac D because some CA vets do not know that. Without the FML, I would have missed being inspired by the ferret shelter people who tirelessly work on behalf of the needy little ones. Without this inspiration, I might not have added seven refugees to the one furry household that I had. At night when I check on them all curled up and sleeping peacefully in the last home these little ones will ever have, I can't even imagine what I would have missed had I not made room for just one more who was lost and needed a home, just one more who bit because he was "mean" (translation - deaf and misunderstood), just one more who no one wanted in the divorce settlement, just one more who would not eat and thrive, and finally, just three more who had been bounced from two homes due to their "high energy, destructive personalities" (translation -- caged, bored, & ignored). This is just some of what reading the FML has done for me; and more importantly, what the FML has done for eight treasured ferrets. Let's not deprive one ferret of the benefit of valuable shared information, knowledge, or insight with ugly human behavior. Posting anonymously to protect the innocent in CA [Posted in FML issue 3333]