Okay, so every one of my little ones is rotating through the Upper Respitory thing. It has been quite unpleasant here- for them, having it, and me watching them have it. Medications, vaporizors and Saline drops abound, much to the ferrets horror, but more on that in a moment. So, it occurs to me that these animals have it made (aside from the snotty, drippy nose part), They don't pay rent, they have an amazing food budget- all they have to do is suggest they would try a new treat and they have it within minutes (okay, days), As far as toys go, they are better outfitted than Paris Hilton- they simply have to express mild interest in something, and they have it in three shades and sizes immediately (they then decide they really were only kidding about wanting it), They have 100% Major Medical coverage with no copay, their medication coverage is out of this world, and they have more friends, and go more places than I do. Not only that, but they don't have to work- they can stay home and invent new ways to cause me to scream when I get home. Given all of this what I have to tell you next hurts me deeply. Okay, I have medications lined up neatly according to who needs what, in what order, and who needs a time delay before feeding, and so on. Everyone takes their meds like the wonderful little troopers that they are- then they flip me off, and off they go to wreak havok upon the house while I am too busy to hunt them down and stuff them. Last in line is Sweet, Sweet Jasmine- my tiniest child. White Silver, and quite deaf. She begins to struggle violently when she realizes we are not having a Linatone moment. Drama, Drama- I've tasted the medicine- not great, but a little like candy (okay, death candy), but, in any event- no choice, she's taking it- so I scruffed her, explained that I am roughly 120 lbs heavier than she is, and I win. I made the mistake of laughing. She may be able to read lips. So, meds taken, filthy looks accepted, off she goes. End of story, you think... NOOOOO....Next frame: here's Jasmine (sweet, sweet Jasmine:-) wandering here, wandering there, wandering over to my unsuspecting ankle...Yep-....chomp- Jasmine wins. Sigh. As soon as they are well, they are all getting jobs. Gerri and her very sore ankle. [Posted in FML issue 5165]