Hey All, I remember watching various shows on National Geographic, the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet about how the NEW scientific evidence is that animals DO experience the full range of emotions that humans do. They love, they hate, they exhibit greed, they share, they show joy and greif, they get jealous, they show compassion. I know my sources dont seem very scientific but I remeber watching them and thinking Cool, they finaly got it. After all, it was elementry to me, all you have to do is watch animals for a while to see every emotion we humans ever experience. As for greiving in a dump situation? That definitely happens. I have heard that same scenario from too many shelter friends and have experienced it myself. One of my first rescue pairs were BigFun and Frolic. They came to me from a military family that was moving. BigFun was a big bouncy dark sable boy and Frolic was a petite sabe female with advanced adrenal disease. They came in a homemade dirty cage with ragged wire and dirty bedding. Frolic went in for adrenal surgery and did not make it out. BigFun went into a serious depression. He would not eat, would not play. He was fine physicaly, just heartbroken at the loss of his home and his cagemate. It took me carrying BigFun around in my arms for the most of each day and hand feeding him for about 2 weeks before he finaly came around, BigFun would be depressed all day but my husband said as soon as I walked in the door, his little head would come up and the spark would return to his eyes. He would spend the rest of the day following me around like a puppy. It is my beleif that the only cure for this kind of depression is to somehow get the ferret to form another bond with you. This made BigFun unadoptable afterwards as I could not bring myself to breach this bond he had given me. Over the years, I have watched science disprove itself given enough time. I have had animal companions for most of my life. I trust my eyes, my mind, and my instinct which all tell me that animals are emotional beings that experience and exhibit the full gamit of emotions. -- His Lamb, Karen [Posted in FML 5510]