Everybody loves Jeanne Carley! And, even if you don't know her, you are probably familiar with her work. Jeanne annually produces the The Ferret Calendar, which has grown through the years to be one of the most sought-after ferret calendar available. Her family, like many of ours, has both two footed and four footed memories. As Jeanne tells it, "My two footed family consists of my father, two brothers and a sister, one sister-in-law and one brother-in-law. My four footed family includes three of our favorite small animals :), one Arabian gelding and one Irish Sporthorse gelding." An avid horse-woman, Jeanne is still a long-termer as a ferret lover, having been introduced to them 20 years ago. They also influenced her life as a professional photographer. Today Jeanne publishes a calendar that benefits ferret shelters throughout the United States. "I was given a ferret in 1988 and fell immediately and completely in love." This ferret was given to her by a friend, who got it from his veterinarian, who had found it in her garage.". Sadly the typical lost ferret scenario, " Jeanne reports. "Because I'm a professional photographer, I naturally began taking his picture -- which was not easy to say the least. Sadly he died about a year later from lymphoma, but I continued taking photographs of other ferrets because photographing my little guy was such joy." And, this introduction was very memorable to Jeanne. "PT and Bogie belonged to a friend who brought them from Virginia when he and his wife moved to CA in the mid 1980's. They were so amazing, fun, intelligent and delightful, I was astounded that there was such an engaging animal in the companion animal world." But, not all is good. Jeanne recalls a "fairly recent and traumatic ... attack on myself and my Arabian by a pitt bull which left me with a broken neck and torn up knee and my horse with an $1,1000.00 [sic] vet bill. I saw the aggression and power of an animal perfectly legal in CA contrasted with what I know and have seen with even the most aggressive or frightened illegal ferret." Given a chance to spend 24 hours with anyone, living or dead, Jeanne would chose her mother, who "died suddenly when I was eight. She was a wonderful person and an artist. I would have loved to know her as an adult. Children are so dependent that you don't really get to know the character of your parents until you mature and I never got to know her well." No doubt this is a woman from whom Jeanne inherited some of her artistic talent. If you get a chance, sit down and visit with Jeanne. She is as much fun as she is interesting. Her taste is eclectic, and her interests range from everything from the old -- "My music tastes are pretty eclectic, rock, classic, jazz. I'm not a fan of rap, sorry." -- to the new -- "I love fantasy, science fiction just about anything that reveals a new world, the imagination at work. One of my favorite works was the Dune series by Frank Herbert. He created a new world, new societies and religion. Fascinating series." Jeanne still enjoys spending time with her father, who also works toward ferret legalization in California. "My Dad is pretty much my hero," says Jeanne. "He is a veteran of WW2, started his own successful business and raised 4 kids pretty much on his own." They spend a lot of time flyfishing, which is Jeanne's "favorite way to unwind. Or just riding a trail with one of the ponies. Jumping is fun but it's not relaxing!!!" Jeanne would like to be remembered "by my work. I don't think you can take these kinds of pictures, tell these sweet and funny stories, make these moments happen, without a deep love, and understanding, of ferrets. The pictures make me smile, even laugh, at times. I hope they do the same for ferret lovers long after I'm gone." To see some of Jeanne's work or order from her, visit Jeanne Carley's Ferret Company at http://www.ferretcompany.com or http://www.jeannecarley.com. -- Renee Downs "Eventually we will realize that if we destroy the ecosystem we destroy ourselves." Jonas Salk "The most effective way to do it, is to do it." Amelia Earhart It's amazing how much can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the credit! Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue & Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.) http://www.ferretemergency.org [log in to unmask] International Ferret Congress http://www.ferretcongress.org American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org [Posted in FML 6095]