It's time to announce the details for the 4th of July Card Exchange. I hope everyone will take a minute to read this as the money raised from this exchange will go to support ADV research. By now, everyone knows White Russian lost his battle with ADV. Many of us followed his progress. We were inspired by his mom's relentless effort to educate us and the sacrifices she made to help advance ADV research. We cried when we heard he was gone as his story touched our very hearts. Now, what many of you may or may not know is this disease has claimed another victim. Our Kouri, the gun-tottin', cat-a-pultin', book readin' gourmet cook recently tested Positive for Aleutians Disease. Having a Fan Club did not help Kouri-ADV is not picky about it's victims. How many more of our ferrets are going to be handed this death sentence before we stand up and say, "THIS MUST STOP?" How many more ferrets will have to die before we declare we want our independence from this vicious killer? We can do nothing for White Russian-other than make his sacrifice mean something. Maybe we can do nothing for Kouri and other ADV+ ferrets.... but we have to try! We have to push!! We must get funding into the research of ADV! We must find a way to stop this before more precious babies are lost. We can no longer have the attitude that we don't have to worry about ADV because it's not in our area or because it doesn't effect us. We can no longer sit back and think it will not happen to us. It can....and it will! I don't mean to preach-I, myself, hate to be preached to-but people-OUR FERRETS ARE DYING!!! Are yours next? Mine? It's time for the ferret community to join together and acknowledge that ADV is no longer just a threat-it is reality. It is here!! We must push to find a way to stop it! All money collected from the 4th of the July Card exchange will be donated to ADV research. If you have never joined in the card exchange, now would be a great time to give it a try! If you don't want to join in the exchange, but you'd still like to make a donation to ADV research in either White Russian or Kouri's name, please write to me and I will tell you how! For the newcomers who are unsure of how the card exchange works, please ask me! Thanks! Judy Cooke Tyson, Hope and Einstein Precious Lily, Chaucer and Boomer! [Posted in FML issue 3803]