It turns out the woman in the novel has the name "Warp" because it refers to that flowing interweaving motion of strands on a loom. Our Warp had gotten her name because she was so fast, but this fits, too, and did her marvelously warped sense of humor. It's good to see happy stuff associated with her name. Sadly, many states have weak to virtually non-existent animal abuse laws but most people don't know that. Here are some sites which can help design and obtain a form of legislation that can help: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding.html, and http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/MunicipaLawyer.pdf and http://www.legis.state.il.us/publicacts/pubact92/acts/92-0454.html and http://www.mhsource.com/pt/p000425.html (hoarding and how it hurts animals) These may also be of interest: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/awa.htm (animal welfare act) and http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.html (fed. regulations and more) There is active work at AFA as well as in some states to improve the sales and transport ages for ferrets to prevent another form of abuse: http://www.ferret.org/ (I don't have the direct URL handy so if someone wants to post that, please do so!) In many cases of animal abuse the people are also in violation of health and building codes and in many states THOSE laws and bureaucratic branches are called in by humane groups so that something with more teeth can be obtained. That shouldn't be necessary, but until laws improve it will often be. The only way to improve laws is if each of us works on that; this isn't a situation in which one can wait for someone else to do it -- this one needs a lot of shoulders behind it in every state. Can't enforce what isn't there so it's two step: in the states that have toothless laws real improvement in laws in needed, and then enforcement. In those ones lucky enough to have some good laws it's a matter for the public insisting on enforcement of those and addition of ones needed. One abuse problem is that in some states, believe it or not, backyard breeders (the ferret equivalent of puppy mills) are seen as "agricultural producers" as are puppy and kitten mills. These are "producers" who are small so fly below federal radar and don't get those inspections, and because they are seen as agricultural they have the power of the agricultural lobbies behind them even if that isn't at all what the farmers meant. In those states it is important to get laws that separate companion animal breeding from agriculture. [Posted in FML issue 3860]