When I came and checked my mail today I had received a very rude letter from a fellow FML subscriber and ferret lover. This letter accused me of caring more about my wallet than my ferrets and contributing to the shelter problems. The opening line was, "Was your FML posting a joke?" There were many very mean things said in this letter and I did not appreciate it. My biggest upset isn't that she said these things, it was how. Why not ask me questions to find out if I am really a bad person? How about suggestions to help me be a better ferret breeder? That would help me more than a letter of pure condemnation. I sincerely appreciate the amount of concern this person obviously has for ferrets, and I can promise you that I share that concern for these fuzzy, loving animals. I do my best to go above and beyond what most would. I follow up with the buyers, it costs a lot every month when I get that phone bill. But I am content knowing that I helped people be better and more knowlegable ferret owners. The only pet store we sell to is a friend of ours who cares about the ferrets as much as we do. He doesn't sell them to people unless they take home information and read about the ferrets first. We supply that information to him. He gives all the buyers our name and address and number and tells them we are always there if they need us. He also makes it perfectly clear to all buyers that if they cannot keep or care for their ferret, they will get their money back and we will get our ferrets back if they need us or cannot be sold. We buy Ferret Food that is made fresh upon our order and shipped across the country to us, it is very very expensive, but we love our animals and we give them the best of everything we can. In addition to caring for ferrets, we care for all animals. We visit the city pounds and shelters at least three times a week to see if there are any animals we could possible care for or find homes for. And people wonder, why do we have so many animals? Four dogs, five cats, and we are always finding homes for others. People wonder how we can afford it. We are barely making it, trying to buy our house and our car, feed all of our animals and ourselves. Thanks to my Mom we always eat with her, and our fridge is bare, because every penny we have goes to our pets, who we love like children. And we are very happy, and very fulfilled. I even skipped getting an engagement ring because instead, we bought a ferret who was sadly abused and unloved. I am proud that we go so far to help animals. I am trying to get an humane society started here too. And I would love to spend my life running it and caring for animals. That is what we plan to do. Carla, I have re-evaluated my priorities just as you said I should, and this is what I have come up with. When you said we care more about our wallets than our animals, you were very very mistaken. I am sorry that you didn't try to get to know me before judging me, because you were very wrong in all the things you said. If anyone has constructive criticism for us, we will be happy to listen. And if anyone has suggestions about how we could be better pet owners or ferret breeders, please, feel free to tell us. There is always more to know, and more to learn, and we are always ready to learn more about the love of our life. Well, a happy welcome to the FML it was for me, indeed. Tarra Lindborg [Posted in FML issue 1014]