Dear Amber, I haven't responded to this as I wanted to have enough time to properly reply. Your post was so touching, and humbling, I still am searching for the right words to say. Thank you for telling us about Daniel. I loved hearing about him. Thank you for the kind words you wrote. And most of all thank you for bringing attention to this. It is very sad that autism has mysteriously escalated to its present rate. A rate far too fast for many proffessionals to keep up with. Public awareness and education are definately needed. I thank Modern Ferret for having a pulse on the hot issues in this country and being daring enough to publish Sean and Rocky's peice. It is unique in that it features an average autistic child, not the one in fifteen that are like that you see depicted on television. It is special because it focus's on how the relationship between boy and ferret helped him Rocky is unique. I went to a shelter for him. The shelter parents had matched Sean up with Rocky and directed Sean to him. They had picked the most laid back, mushy, cuddly ferret in the bunch. We also made sure that Sean picked Rocky himself. If he had focused on a nippy ferret, etc.. we would have gone to another shelter to choose a more appropriate companion for him. I don't think that ferrets are the easiest or best pets for the autistic across the board. I think they are wonderful for moderate to mild autistics and Aspergers kids. I really believe they have great potential as service animals for the autistic in and out of the classroom. Modern Ferret has done the community a great service by making the article available online for all. If you go to www.modernferret.com, you can download it and read it all. I can't thank them enough. And I'm so glad you got to see it. I remember all too well what it was like to feel removed and alone in your situation. Wolfy Please visit: http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/ for information on ferret deafness: http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/deaf.html [Posted in FML issue 3525]