The case Suki posted about is NOT the case where both parents were there as well as a pitbull. This case took place in the late '80's. The father was "passed out" in the home, supposedly not far from the baby and the mother was supposedly at a bar drinking at the time. I personally went to several hearings in the '90's in Sacramento for ferret legalization where the Department if Fish and Game trotted this girl out for the legislators to see and I watched as Jeanne Carley valiantly argued that parental neglect was at fault and argued that ferrets are statistically safer than dogs and cats, etc. After several years of this, she finally stopped coming to the hearings. It is VERY unfortunate that this case is resurfacing. I personally had nightmares that, had there been a ballot measure to legalize ferrets, DFG (or some other group opposing legalization) would have dragged her out for one last appearance...on everyone's TV screen, surely destroying chances of legalization for decades. Thankfully, that didn't happen, but this latest reincarnation of the story begs the question: what should ferret owners do in response? In my opinion, the best thing to do is NOTHING (especially California people). The more attention we draw to this case, the more it hurts the cause for legalization in California and elsewhere. If "crazy" ferret owners inundate TV stations with calls and letters, that itself will become a story which will spread, along with the story and PICTURES of the girl. And, the fact of the matter is a ferret DID chew part of this girls face off and for most people in California (most if whom have never even seen a ferret), just hearing of this case will bias them against legalization. And the longer we keep the story alive, the worse off we'll be. So let's all take a deep breath and think before we act. [CF] [Posted in FML 6489]