While simply watching the ad as ferret owners, we may appreciate the humor of the advertisement, that doesn't mean we can ignore the further implications. Sure, it's an entertaining concept without the context of an ignorant population. I can't speak for everybody, but I know the reason it upset me so much is because we have all fought so hard to change the image of the ferret. I would say that 75% of the time I mention I have a ferret, the uninformed person asks "Don't they bite?" or says "I heard they're mean" or "They're filthy and stinky". (Well, I can't completely argue with stinky!) These are the people who are seeing this ad. These are also the citizens of New York City and California who may someday get to vote on the legalization of ferrets. I would love to be able to take my ferrets for a walk in the park someday and have NOBODY pull their kids aside and say "Don't go near them, they bite". But that's not going to happen anytime soon. And ads like the one from Verizon are only going to perpetuate the bad public image of our fuzzy friends. I think it's fair to say thatmost of us don't object to the ad by itself, only to the effect it will have on the ignorant public. If Verizon showed a similar ad with dogs or cats, it would be less of a big deal because most people know that dogs and cats aren't vicious and mean. They don't have the same bad image to fight. For those people who don't have a problem with the ad, don't read the emails pertaining to it, and you certainly don't have to write a complaint letter. But please try and understand the rest of us wanting to prevent Verizon from undoing what it has taken us decades to do for the image of the domestic ferret. [Posted in FML issue 3874]