Recently, I took my ferret into class (I'm a student at Northern Illinois University) for a presentation on ferrets and FFZs. The experience highlighted many of the common reactions to ferrets. We took a quiz at the start of class, and my Zoe ran around happily crawling into book bags and sniffing up pant legs. A female student, who came to class late, refused to sit anywhere near the area Zoe was checking out at the moment. Well, eventually she came around to this student's part of the classroom, and she literally climbed on top of her desk in fear. She then left the classroom after mumbling something about a "bad experience" she'd once had with a rodent. A rodent!!!!! Sigh.....At least I was able to use her reaction as an example of the irrational fear and ignorance that leads to the creation of FFZs. After that, however, things went well. It is trully amazing howmost people react to ferrets once they realize that they don't "stink", and that they are truly sweet animals. Zoe helped the cause by crawling inside someone's winter hat, where she wiggled about to the delight of the class. It was too cute for words. People then asked all sorts of questions until the professor cut off discussion for other class matters. People trully could not get enough of her little yawns. The moral of the story? Most people can learn to appreciate ferrets once they get past their initial misconceptions and prejudices. Yet, there are those who truly can never be reached. Pity. Markos (and my better half--Zoe) [Posted in FML issue 1394]