Dear Person who wrote, The highest honor a ferret can receive is Ferret Of the Year. The Platinum (for Companion Ferrets who are spayed/neutered at a young age) or Gold status (For Breeder, Adolescent/ Late Alter Ferrets) is a certificate everyone can get after accumulating so many points. This is done by showing, so even if you have a ferret who is not the best of the best, you can still achieve the certificate in time. My Moses is still working on his certificate after 2 years of showing, my Bartlett got his Platinum certificate in 4 shows. Now, a ferret must attend at least 4 shows to get Ferret of the Year. They must also place in high up in the rings and get BIS (Best in Show). They are ferrets who are the cream of the crop. Once a ferret has achieved their Platinum or Gold status, it is an UNWRITTEN rule that one steps aside and stops showing them in the Companion/Breeder/Adolescent/Late Alter rings. It is something that you do voluntarily. Not everyone does it and that is on them. My Bartlett finished in 4 shows, 3 of which were in one year, the last show was in March of the following year. I technically could have continued to show him in the second year and went for the Ferret of the Year award, however, I felt like he finished and therefore I would step aside. He still shows in the color specialties but not in the point classes. That is something I chose to do to allow others to win. Most decent people will do this since the ferret will only get ribbons and the points no longer matter. I hope that helps. Marguerite Life is not how many breaths you take, but how many times it takes your breath away... TinyPrints Ferret Rescue PetFinder Web Page http://www.tinyprintsontheheart.petfinder.org TinyPrints Ferret Rescue Store http://www.tinyprintsontheheart.com/onlinestore.htm Aloha Ferrets Ebay Store http://stores.ebay.com/Aloha-Ferrets-Store [Posted in FML issue 4990]