Max writes: >This is going to spook people here abouts so please try to limit who touches >your ferrets to those that you know well. WRONG!!! The more we hide our ferrets in the closet, the more people will be scared of them! This man did not get rabies from a ferret, he got it from a bat. We should no more hide our ferrets away than our cats and dogs. I take my ferrets out as much as I possibly can, and urge people to touch them. I hold the ferret with it's back to the petter, face in my elbow, and encourage people to A. pet the ferrets back, and B. keep their hands away from his face....NOT THAT HE WILL BITE, BUT SO THAT ANY GERMS THEY MAY HAVE ON THIER HANDS WON'T MAKE HIM SICK!!! I can't tell you how many times people have said "Oh, I heard they smell" and then I say "Does he smell?" to which they reply, "Not at all!", or "Oh, I hear they are vicious", to which I hold my fuzzy up to my face to get a kiss, and they invariably laugh and say "I guess I heard wrong". I do educational showings at schools, fairs, and any other place that will have me and have had many people approach me afterwards and say they learned many new things- and their opinions on ferrets were turned around afterwards. I have even had people ask about adopting a ferret. I am not suggsting that we take fuzzies with a tendency to be nippy or those who are skittish into public. I definitely pick and chose carefully, and only take those fully vaccinated and in good health who are hams and enjoy being around people and particularly strangers. I strongly feel the more we back away into the closet, the more our ferrets will suffer from ignorance and misjustice. -Anne [Posted in FML issue 2104]