I was visiting the home of the Ottawa Ferret Association (OFA) on Friday. A call came in from the Humane Society concerning a ferret that was to be picked up on Monday. While at the Humane Society, the ferret had bitten a young boy who stuck his finger in the cage. The ferret supposedly had been found in a warehouse. The Health Department was going to put the ferret down to be tested for rabies on Monday. Carl Clarke of the OFA was able to obtain further information concerning the person who had delivered the "stray". As it turns out, the ferret was found eight weeks earlier in Toronto (400km's distance) and brought to the person in Ottawa who eventually dumped the ferret as a 'just-found stray'. This person had called the OFA a few weeks earlier and asked for advice on this new ferret, and was told to call back if they needed more help. This person already had one ferret! Carl Clarke also contacted Agriculture Canada, and was told that they had never had a positive rabies case in a ferret. Carl spoke to the parties involved, and with the information he had was able to get them to agree to a ten day quarantine. Fortunately, the parents of the boy were not demanding the testing of the ferret. Otherwise, it may not have ended on a happy note. After all the disappointment in MD, a ferret was saved in Ottawa. Three Cheers for Carl. Three Jeers for the irresponsible person who dumped the ferret when other options were offered. George P.S. Awful grammar, diction, spelling, etc, but I'm really tired and wanted to type this tonight. [Posted in FML issue 1113]