First, since I don't post often but read daily, so I wanted to say how much I enjoy the recent threads on spoiled ferrets and nicknames, I have had a few LOL chuckles over some of the entries. Second, we had a recent bout of some flu bug or something with our little "Bud-Man" (Buddy) as he lost a lot of weight, stopped eating regular diet and just wanted "snacks", and had intermittent diarrhea. I was put in contact with the Ferret Foundation here in the Bay Area. For those in the vicinity, you should know there are angels of mercy amongst our midst. They came to my house and checked stool samples, got me in contact with a local vet that would except payments, gave me lots of educational materials, and generally helped out. The good news is that we followed a course of antibiotics and the Bud-Man is gaining weight, eating, pooping with style and showing his old spunk. They do rescue, education and referral to "underground" fuzzie owners and if you are not plugged into a club in the Bay Area, they are good people to know. Lastly, I am traveling to Kansas in a few weeks to visit my daughter who is expecting my first grandchild, and plan to visit Troy Lynn, which tickles me since she was my first fuzzy contact last spring and she referred me to the FML to learn more before we got our first little guy. She also prevented a potential disaster by discouraging me when I wanted to bring a fuzzy back from my last visit. Ferret folks do seem to be extra friendly! My New Year wish for everyone is to have the energy of a 12 week old kit each and every day, wouldn't we get a lot done?<G> Have a safe and fuzzy holiday season! D & E [Posted in FML issue 1407]