Hi, All. Some random replies: Beth, Brian & Bandit: The Greater Chicago Ferret Association has a great shelter in the west or southwest burbs. It might be a bit of a drive for you, but give 'em a call. I think the new number is (708) 442-8650. Good luck! Lynn: Others will know more than me, but my understanding when we brought Alexander (MF) home from the petshop last year is that he had been given the first in his initial series of shots, not the entire first series. Also, with respect to rabies, I think even if there's a very low chance of exposure, you should go ahead and get the rabies shots for your guys. The reason is that in the rare event that they bite a stranger, if you can produce proof that they're vaccinated then you can at least try to make the argument that they shouldn't be destroyed to be tested for rabies [not something you want to think about, but a possibility nonetheless, even though there are no documented cases of humans contracting rabies from ferrets, etc. etc.]. So in a way, you're protecting your guys from people as well as rabies. What do other people think? Norris: The story about Nico getting THROUGH chicken wire was terrifying. My wife has expertly chicken-wired all of our standing houseplants, and it's worked beautifully; I thought they were invulnerable... until now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Here's our teleportation story: We started out with Alexander, a loveable, somewhat pudgy, and decidedly ground-loving ferret. Months after bringing him home, when we had finally ferret-proofed the house up to a height of about 2 feet, I (foolishly) looked on the bright side: "Thank goodness ferrets can't climb!" Yeah, right. About a year ago we brought home Moxie as a pal for Alexander. She's tiny and incredibly nimble. A few days after bringing her home, I heard some scratching coming from our closet. I had no idea what it could posibly be; the door had been closed all evening. I opened the door, and painstakingly pushed aside all the accumulated junk on the floor, searching for the source of the noise, but found nothing. Finally I stood up, and found myself eye-to-eye and nose-to-pink-nose with Moxie. Not only had she teleported up onto the shelf, but had done so through the closed door! Needless to say, my safe little world, in which "ferrets can't climb", was shattered. PS: No white feet. OK, I'll shut up. Take care, all! John & Rebekah Alexander ("You want me to climb onto the COUCH? By MYSELF!?!") Moxie ("Gimme a centimeter gap and I'M IN THERE!") [Posted in FML issue 1342]