Hello all you humans its Callie here from The Educated Ferret Assoc. Have not been near the computer since our frolic two years ago. You see I live in the main house now and I've been doing my teaching about us ferrets to some local schools to lot of human children. DA Ma Ma says now I am five I am going to semi retire. I gets runny poops cause going out of the den stresses me. That means the humans have to come to me to learn ferret sign lanuage. Also I was sleeping too much so DA Ma Ma took me to have my blood checked and now I gets duck soup with stuff in it twice a day. Now I feel better and I can keep up with Joshua and Josiah. DA Ma Ma found my vulva popped on Sunday morning and my butt is getting naked when I started to shed last week so I have to go for surgery on Aug 7. Please all you humans say a prayer for me. Now enough on me. Now maybe I can get some help from some of you humans. You see DA Ma Ma got a phone call from one of the members of our human club saying he went into Petco store in Leminester MA. today and they had a letter sign telling all the humans their small creatures, including his five ferrets were no longer welcome at their store. The humans in the store said some board of health human made them put up the sign. Something in the paper thing said cause of monkey pox. Now the only monkeys I know of are the silly play ones our humans have hanging on their swing couch. You see we don't have a regular couch cause Joshua made a den throughout the bottom of our good couch. They took the legs off so we could not get into the new den so Arielle dug under the pillows into the couch and let us back in. DA Ma Ma gave to her granddaughter our new den and we now have a hanging couch. It had a den cover on it but DA Ma Ma took it off and put their stuffed animal toys swinging from the top of it. Joshua loves to jump up and tries to knock them down. I love to tunnel between the pillows. We all love to swing in DA Ma Ma lap. Oh dear I got excited about the couch guess I better get back to helping DA Ma Ma. Don't know what this monkey pox has got to do with us ferrets but DA Ma Ma is upset because we have been to Petco once a month to do education and fund raising for the over four years and we have always been welcome. We greets the humans and tells them all about how to take care of us ferrets. Now DA Ma Ma keeps coming up with lots of questions. Maybe some of you humans could help them with some answers or shares how you feels about it. Maybe some questions of your own. Us ferrets don't know what monkey pox is. DA Ma Ma does and it makes her scared for us ferrets future. Not the monkey pox but what these humans are going to do to us ferrets. These are some of the questions. I don't knows the answeres but I do know this is going change our dens. 1. What will happen if all the board of health's in our country close the pet stores to small animals from visiting the pet stores? 2. What will happen to the ferrets in peoples homes if we are banned from being taken out in public. 3. Will this effect the sale of ferrets in the pet stores and if so what will happen to the ferrets now in the pet stores. 4. Will it be better for us ferrets if this board of health humans say pet stores cannot sell ferrets? 5. Now how do we deal with Monkey Pox as a rescue? 6. As a rescue we had to deal with ECE, then ADV. Now monkey pox'. The ECE we are educated about and know how to deal with it. The ADV. we are educating our selves and are learning about its effect on our rescues and how it is financially draining the already over stressed rescues. 7.How do we deal with the monkey pox if the city/state/board of health decide to close the ferret and other small animal rescues. 8. How do we find out which stores are effected and where they are located. This is all to much for an old lady ferret to deal with so I'm going to my hammock and curl up with the J J boys. I guess I will have to leave helping DA MaMa up to you humans. I thinks it would help if you call your local pet stores and ask them if they have been told by their board of health humans not to let us ferrets or small creatures in their stores. Humpf I've been mascot and hostess for the Educated Ferret Assoc for a long time, been to more pet stores that a rescue ferret business has placed ferrets in loving homes. Joshua says give him a board of health human and he will poof on him. He" He" Joshua made DaAMa Ma look bad cause humans said we stink and she said if you get educated and learn to take proper care of us. You see Joshua has learned he does not have to do education at the pet store if he poofs and makes all the humans think we stink. Oh my running off again. That's another story. By all you humans hope you help DA Ma Ma. Thank you all and please come visit me at our web den. http//theeducatedferret.org Love Callie [Posted in FML issue 4220]