If you have not yet done so, please take a few minutes now to submit your comment to the USDA regarding the 8 week minimum age for transport of warm-blooded animals, including ferrets. <http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0024> The deadline for comments is TUESDAY JULY 8! Linda Iroff ------ Ironically last week, my impulsive and immature son, Chet, bought and brought home a baby ferret from a pet store. The baby's baby was so thin, you could feel every vertebrae. He was having trouble motor wise beyond a walk. He cried, and still does, through the day. He must have really gone through hell from early neutering, shots and a poor transport. He was 7 weeks or less as proved by dental development. He went from the farm to a distributor in Atlanta. Obviously he was sent out very young from the farm for us to purchase him at such a young age. The baby stopped eating and we had to force feed him for a couple days, and we still now have to give supplemental feedings by finger a few times a day to keep him thriving. Ironic timing. Good timing for everything going on with the push to change the laws, poor timing for me as I have barely a minute to spare this week specifically. Anyway, I closely documented this case with unedited photos of teeth, the reciet, the birth certificate and tranfer info. I also took an unedited, unspliced, one scene movie of the baby, dates on Direct Tv and everything I took photos of. I have a separate movie of him waddling around to show poor motor ability, but he was reved up and not so bad. I don't know what the movie will do, but I hope it comes in handy someday. Meanwhile, I'm waiting on advice today from a couple people as to what to do with this info regarding the USDA thing, etc.. If I can do something via email, then I have the time and means. I don't know, I guess I just wanted to say how sad this makes me. I never look at the pet store babies, I walk around that area. I just can't do it anymore (the educating the pet stores again and again and again to see them keep falling back to old habits). I'm emotionally exhausted from it. Of course Chet had to bring home the hurt I"ve been avoiding and slap that in my face (unknowingly though). Sean hovers over my shoulder asking if we are doing anything and I assure him that there are many caring people still working on it. He utters that it will take a lot and be a long time because the government are "a-holes" that don't care. How does an autistic boy that has no clue as to what something as simple as the phrase "are you decent" means when you enter a bedroom understand the complexity of how gov works as he did? He's in his own little world of Mario and Luigi. In addition, I assure you this is a fun, wild home, that avoids such negativity. Sad. BUT, I was so happy and proud that I could say so many people in the world are working on it and many of them are friends and "family" to us. It was good to give a little boy that hope. Thank you for that. The Z-man is loved here. He will be fine. Thanks to the many, many ferret people I've met and the FML and FHL that has educated me on such serious health issues over the years. I cant' wait until he is old enough and well enough to meet "the gurlz" (my two DMK adoptees). :) They are going to be thrilled. And hopefully, Sean's Pharos will be equally happy for yet another young one to "mother". Please, take a minute to write a comment on the site that Linda I (LindaFerret hehe) gave. At least do that okay? If you've no time or idea of what to say, just voice a presence. If only to say "Yah, what she said" to another comment. :) [Posted in FML 6025]