I believe that all of us who have had a lot of experience with ferrets
owe it to our little ones and to those people who have helped us in the
past to return the favor and help as many other ferret owners in need
as we can. When my boy Neo became very sick about 5 years ago, I was
lost. I knew nothing of online ferret communities, knew nothing of
ferret illnesses, and was struggling to find a decent ferret vet in the
area. It was torture seeing him so sick and feeling almost helpless to
know what to do. Ann Gruden of FACT gave me considerable direction and
help, including pointing me toward this email list, and the Ferret
Health List, and I will always be grateful for the time and effort she
made to help me. Once I joined this list, others quickly came to my aid
with advice and support. I eventually lost Neo, despite surgery and
meds, but from that time forward I vowed that Neo's life would mean
something, and that it would spur me to learn as much as I could about
ferrets, to help as many as I could in the future, and to eventually
help other ferret owners in need. To this day, I take that vow very
seriously.

We all can help others in our own ways. The important thing, as Debbie
points out, is that we take pride in our love of ferrets, take pride
in our mutual support of one another, and extend that to as many other
ferrets and ferret owners as we can. At the end of the day, it helps
them, and it helps us to sleep just a little bit better in a world
where there's just way too much suffering amongst animals.

Jeff
In Loving Memory of Neo, Trinity, Morphy, Possum, Pip, Pop, Sabrina,
Minnie Mouse, Hunny, Misty, Frodo, Baggins, and Mr. Parker
Caring for Luna, Baby Girl, Dozer, Boomer, and Zoomer

[Posted in FML 7229]