I haven't been keeping up lately, so maybe what I'm writing isn't new but here goes. Smoke and Animals: Whether it's marijuana or tobacco, a lot of second hand smoke in the environment is as bad, if not worse for animals. A friend of mine who was a heavy smoker in a rather small apartment had a cat who coughed and wheezed worse than a human with emphasyma. She seemed like she could hardly breathe, and even my friend thought it was because of his own smoking. I would imagine it would be even worse for ferrets since they have such sensitive respiratory systems. People rarely smoke as much marijuana as cigarettes, so this is more a warning to tobacco smokers. I am no expert, but this is my opinion from my own observation. The Whoppi Show: I saw part of that show with the ferret as I was flipping channels. Then I watched the rerun. I was so happy to see a ferret in a TV show, especially one that takes place in NYC (though the cage he was in was ridiculously small. Then came the bite, which was totally unrealistic, as the ferret seemed so mellow and was not out of its cage. Though there was no sign of bleeding, after Whoppi's friend sprayed something on it, it swelled up. What was most shocking was Whoppi sitting in the ER waiting room with so much gauze wrapped around her entire hand and wrist that it looked like her hand had been chopped off. Another case of prejudice against ferrets, and occurring in a city where we are trying so hard to get legalization. One time when I went away and stupidly left my cat at a friend's house (where a dog and another cat lived), she was so terrified that she spent the entire time in a corner of the livingroom where no one could reach her. Though I thought my friend, who is an animal lover, would know better, he picked her up against her will and she bit him. His arm swelled up a bit and he had to get a shot at the doctor's. I mention this because it happens all the time with dogs, cats, and other animals but is always associated with ferrets. It pisses me off. As one of my cable guys said when he met Rocky, "These animals are illegal? They should make the rats illegal!" Does anyone know where I could write to the Whoppi show about this issue? Also I encourage others to do the same. Though I am not a regular watcher, it seems like a witty show and the humor is usually quite intelligent and on top of political issues. Though I'm sure Whoppi has final approval, this is the fault of the writers, who probably never even met a ferret. Shron & Rocky [Posted in FML issue 4318]