Whew! It's been a long time since I had a chance to read the FML or even post. But I just wanted to throw my $.02 in on this.... My husband and I added ferrets to our household many years before our first or second child. My oldest son is now three. Having ferrets has allowed me to begin to teach my son kindness and respect for all living things. I firmly believe that those lessons must start when children are still young. I think if you wait until the child is 5 or 10 years old you have missed that magic window of opportunity when you can influence the core beliefs of that person. Sure they can learn things when they are older, but it may just be that - a learned behavior. It may not be part of who they are. You may or may not agree with this and that is fine. It's my opinion and I don't expect everyone to agree with it. But I can say as a parent and long time ferret owner that if a shelter turned me away without speaking to me or meeting my children just because I have children, that's fine too. In focusing on the negative things that can happen, they have missed an opportunity to adopt a ferret to a loving family who would carefully supervise the interactions between their ferrets and their young children. A place where the ferret and child will find enjoyment and happiness in each other. I would take the dollars that I had intended as a donation for the shelter and visit a local pet store. They would be more than happy to sell me a ferret without any arbitrary judgements about me or my home. Flame me all you want for this but you know it is the truth. I encourage shelters to make case-by-case decisions. By turning away everyone with children, prospective good homes as well bad are lost. -kim and the three fuzzy gals - pippi, jinx, and rosie Kimberly Burkard | _ Everything I needed to know in life, Eastman Kodak Company| _____C .._. I learned from my ferret: Rochester, New York | ____/ \___/ Frolic and dance for joy often, have [log in to unmask] |<____/\_---\_\ no fear or worries, and enjoy life. [Posted in FML issue 3715]