Morning Ferret Family! On behalf of the kids in our group that received goodies from the kind people connected with the Giving Tree, I would like to send out a great big THANK YOU! We had 4 shelter kids on the tree. This being our first year, we didn't want to post too many so others could also benefit from this wonderful program. The response was overwhelming! Our little Zoie was able to get the surgery she so desperately needed and had it this past Monday. We are so eternally grateful, words can not express the joy and admiration to those that gave so whole- heartily to ferrets they didn't even know personally. Zoie is recuperating nicely at her foster mom's home. She sends her love to all! As does Max, Romey, and Trudy. They received so many goodies, they decided to share their abundance with the other ferrets in our care. The generosity of those that sent gifts leaves me speechless. To Debi Sadowski & any others that had missing promises; I am sorry your experience wasn't as joyful. But as Barb pointed out, the ferrets didn't know any different unless they picked up "negative vibes" from you. Can they really pick up on that? Heck yes! You talk to them when they're not feeling well to coax them back to you, so why wouldn't they sense it in your voice or actions when your upset? Ever notice how they act when you've gotten home from a bad day at work? They put that extra hop in their dance, just for you. They tug extra hard on your pant leg to get your attention to distract your thoughts from the work day. They may even put pieces of kibble in your shoes so when you get ready for work the next day, you'll have snacks to carry with you so may be this day won't be as difficult to get thru as yesterday. And they smother you with cod liver scented kisses! What else could one ask for!?! But I do understand your distress after all, it was a broken promise. We've each made promises to the fuzzies in our care: to provide them with all the creature comfort we possibly can, offer them the proper food & clean water, smother them with tons of kisses and be there when they need us. How many have fallen short on that? How many ferrets are in foster care and shelters around the world? How many more are abandoned & never recovered? Didn't their "family's" make a promise to them when they bought them? A "christmas" box with snuggy sacks or Ferretone or stuffed toys are nice to get but those are material things. We need to step back and look at the whole picture sometimes; time to think "out of the box". Are the ferrets in our care neglected? Do they have what they need? Are they loved? Do they know joy? Ferrets don't know what money is but they sure know what love is and they're smart enough to know money can't buy love any more than can a box of "things". Karma is a wonderful thing. What goes around comes around. Keep giving of yourselves, unselfishly and one day you will be repaid in kind when you need it the most. Hugs to the fuzzies! Debbie Saunders Director http://www.biglickferretshelter.org Ferrets are fuzzy prozac! [Posted in FML issue 5129]