I just had to jump in on this discussion. Last year I had my two ferrets in my dorm room at college The year before i had been in a small house with friends, so the issue never came up, but last year I was approached by my hall director and told to "get rid of" my ferrets. The pet legislature in the student handbook had no safety net for animals that had been voted in previously; it simply said that anything short of a unanimous floor vote required "removal of the animal." The choice of words that kept coming up really burned me up. "Get rid of them." "Remove them." I felt like I was expected to put my girls out on the curb with the trash! For all the thought that went into that legislature, you'd think they were talking about illegal microwaves or something. Sorry if I'm getting up on my soapbox here, but I feel it's appropriate for this discussion. I worked at a pet store a few years ago, and several times had to deal with ferrets being returned because people decided they didn't like them anymore, or they required more care than a hamster. For one thing, before getting ANY animal you should find out what kind of care it needs, but that's beside the point. I want to yell at people like that: "This is a living creature with feelings! Not a pair of shoes!" It's already been said how caring for an animal is a committment for the life of that animal, and I couldn't agree more. OK, end of rant, I promise! It's just that this is an issue I could go on and on about (don't worry, I won't!) One other thing: I am also in my 20s, and am also wondering how one can "outgrow" a ferret! Rachel and da wild weaselinas ===== "Go ahead, call the cops You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops" -- Tom Waits [Posted in FML issue 3657]