Recently I was helping someone nurse sick ferrets. Two - Winston and Petey - died from severe anemia and ulcer-like coffee ground stools. The typical protocal didn't help these little ones. During this time I lost 3 - Cinnamon, Foxy, Kit Kat and this last weekend I lost Foxy. Whatever this was came on fast and within 3 days they were dead. The signs were vague till the last day when they bled out. Friends that run a ferret shelter in Indiana have recently lost 3 ferrets too. It has been a very sad 3 weeks. I believe in helping others. Life as I live it is not easy by any sense of the term, BUT what I do makes me feel like I'm helping and contributing something back. Obstacles are frequently thrown in my path, I deal with them as best I can, sometimes they take me down for a short while, then I buck up and get back on track. I am the one that has to work through my own difficult situations. I look on craigslist and my heart is heavy. Ferrets, dogs, cats, bunnies, birds, reptiles - the listings are endless. We have shelters that have many little beings in their care, they could use volunteers, supplies, money for vet bills. The animals need love and care and personal attention. I ask myself why aren't all these little ones in homes and all the shelters fully stocked and with credit on their vet accounts? sigh. How many people are there in this world? How many are just sucking up sweet air taking up space and doing nothing in return? Do they think life owes them for nothing? I have a request in memory of the little ones that left our realm. Please help others, animals and humans alike. Spend extra time playing and loving on your ferrets. Smile and say good morning to a stranger. Spend a few minutes picking out a shelter and send them a Thank You card, a gift, supplies, something. If you have room in your home, heart and finances, add a needy little one to your family. There are so many ways to make a positive difference in life. And when you do, please post on the FML so others will be encouraged to do it too. Reality as it is sucks at times, and I so want it to be better but it won't be if we all sit by and do nothing. I want it to be like that insurance commercial where we see one person being helped then that person helps another and that person helps another and so on. Pass it forward. I'm willing to put the effort in, are you? tle www.ferretfamilyservices.org [Posted in FML 6395]