>From: zen and the art of ferrets - bill and diane <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Same old same old misc. topics from zen... >All the negative feedback is backfiring. The more "Attacks" Mr. Cowherd gets >the funnier we seem. Its embarrassing actually. Bill and Diane, I can understand what you are saying, HOWEVER you have only part of the picture here. This article ran in a local newspaper-- Not as satire, but in the community living section. These folks took it literally. While the readers of "THE SUN" understand the satire, the local community here does not. We are settled in a very conservative area with literally a swarm of ferret haters. This feeds their frenzy of ferrets being wild animals , baby killers, etc. You may live in an area where they are accepted. Here ferrets are the exception and still very misunderstood. I admit perhaps seeing this column appear in our local paper where they have shown NO SUPPORT for the shelter was infuriating and almost defeating. The timing was also not welcomed. It seems that those folks who take this satire as fact are also the ones who feel there is no loss in taking a ferrets head-- so yes, I am darned upset about this -- and PERHAPS you think I am going too far... but you are not getting the calls on a daily basis to shelter the ferrets now, are you? Perhaps once in a while.. .but your web page always states there are none in the shelter. I really look forward to the day when we can state the same thing. In fact since July of 1993 we have not had a single day off from shelter work. So I give you this I might be over reacting to Mr. Cowherd's satire, but I am not over-reacting to the misapplication locally of his column. The phone has been ringing here for 3 days!!!! Alicia and the Ferret Wise gang [Posted in FML issue 1987]