All too often some of the victims of second hand smoke are more than the people around us but also our pets. I have rescue ferrets here and have noticed they have been in a smoking environment where they are struggling with nicotine withdrawal syndromes. I noticed RePete running for the ditch on the road side and found it a struggle to keep an eye on him when he did that. It took me quite a while to find out why he was doing that, he was struggling to find the last of discarded cigarettes! His nicotine addiction had a strong grip on him. This took me months to help him kick that habit, the patched did no good where he would lick them off and they didn't stick well to the fur anyway. Of course he would not chew that habit breaking gum so I was at a loss. But then recently I saw him walking by slowly. Not the usual for a ferret. Then I noticed he had blood shot eyes and the beginning of a s)$) eating grin. But when he went for the J-feeder and cleaned out 3 days worth of kibble I knew he had taken that horrid next step, it was weed! RePete was hooked on weed! Those dandy lions all dried up in the lawn had him by a very firm grip. I now have him enrolled in a dry out school for ferrets. He gets the shakes allot but I can see he is happier and realizes how deep into it he was. He wants to get better and I will encourage him with belly rubs and lots of hugs. He likes that. Ya can't help but love a ferret ! Aarrow Ranch Aviation Rev. J Gordon Bengtson 7302 Hunterbrook Drive, Suite 100 Mechanicsville, Va. 23111 USA [Posted in FML issue 5140]