Dear All, Kim Fox wrote the following: >My little rescue girl, Stacy, placed 5 out of 9 in Mitt/ Wannabe. Go >Stacey!! The show was packed and all of the shelter kids that came to >the show were adopted. Yay!! Sorry I late in responding, but I just got back from my Maryland vacation. I was up visiting my sister in Maryland and we decided to drop in on the Balitmore Ferret Club Show. What a disaster; not only was the show hall empty, but because of such a poor response of people showing, they combined Speciality Classes like apples and oranges. After not having enough response to the classes, instead of cancelling the show that they advertised and collected entry fees for, they combined the following for judging: Albino/Darkeyed White Mitts/Wannabe - mitts are a very defined category - I give up, how were they judged Panda/Blaze Sable/Black Sable ( since when doesn't a show have a full class of Sables???) Senior/Handicap - healthy seniors v handicaps????? Marshall Farms had 12 entries There were more moronic groupings Obviously Ms. Fox and I were at two different shows. Did you have a shelter table for your own adoptables? Do you have adoptables - how many? My sister is interested in adoption. I visited the BFC Shelter Table and met a wonderful lady, Donna Block, The BFC Shelter Director. She was so excited that all of her babies, six, had been adopted. We all absolutely shared her joy. There were other board members of the BFC at the shelter/raffle tables. I asked if the shelter ferrets were Aleutians Disease Virus tested and was told, "NO". The response was rather aggressive. Beyond the "NO", I was told that they had spoken to various vets in the Baltimore area and were told that, "they don't know how ADV is spread and that the rumor of an epidemic is way exaggerated". Thus the BFC Shelter does not test, they do require testing for show entry, and worst yet, not a table or a handout about ADV. I attended a post-show party and shared this information with others. There is a post on the FHL regarding our concerns by another shelter director. It's a good topic with real questions addressed. Ms. Fox, I really think we were at different shows. I am appalled that this club is so apathetic to such a threat as ADV. You have a shelter, weren't you worried yourself about exposure? In previous posts by you on the FML, I have queried you, but never received an answer. Do you subscribe to the BFC philosophy that ADV is not a threat? Well, back home and sanitized! Sincerely, Joan Wont [Posted in FML issue 3774]