I too was very moved by Mr. Serrano's story, for a number of reasons. The poor man lives alone in a tiny room just off the boiler room. Not exactly the American dream. Sounds like a rather sad and lonely life. He seems to have a kind heart, as he takes in strays. I imagine the dog and ferret helped allay his loneliness. We know all too well how a ferret can come along and steal your heart. It sounds like he had grown very attached to the ferret, as he carried it around with him just about everywhere he went. How hard is it to lose a ferret to old age or natural illness? Even more hard to know it was taken by thugs who may mistreat it. He tries to get it back, and winds up in the hospital for his trouble. Odds are the poor gentleman is not rolling in cash to begin with. Now he has huge hospital bills, which he may or may not be able to pay. In his type of job, he may have little or no sick leave, which means no pay. He has his own pain and injuries, and on top of that the emotional pain of worrying about what will happen to Mico. Thugs that would beat up a poor man and hospitalize him aren't likely to treat the ferret all that well either. Of course, they may have taken it with the intentions of selling it to get drug money or something. Probably the most that can be hoped for there is that the ferret will eventually wind up with someone who will give it a good home. I really do feel very horrible for what Mr. Serrano is going through right now. I wish there were some way the ferret community could do something to help. Take up donations or send cards. I don't know, but I found it to be a very sad story. He sounds like a nice man. Just my thoughts on the matter. Holly, Icarus & Cato [Posted in FML issue 5193]