>We do not have the right to judge anyone who has to give up their pets and I agree. As one who has endured this painful event (and over a year of being judged for doing so) I know how it feels, first-hand, to reluctantly surrender my beloved pets under conditions I could neither forsee or control. Last summer, following surgery for double-hernia, I was preparing for open-heart (valve replacement) surgery. I had contemplated (and was making plans for) surrendering my six much-loved ferrets to the shelter I volunteer at. My soon-to-be ex-roommate, who also had two ferrets, talked me out of it, saying they'd take care of my babies til I was out of the hospital. I was hesitant, at first, but agreed. The day beofre I went in for surgery, I did a thorough cleaning of their cage. The next morning I said my goodbyes. A day after the surgery my roommate called to tell me that my ferrets had been surrendered to the shelter. I was heart-sick (no pun intended). I did however rest better knowing that they were in the caring, capable hands of the shelter volunteers. When I was well enough to go, I was able to see the two or three that hadn't yet been adopted. I saw one last week. She is doing fine, though she is blind and possibly deaf. She is with loving caring people whom I hope will never have to give her up. I am writing this partly as a catharsis (sp?) for myself and partly for others who may be placed in similar extenuating circumstances. Shelters exist BECAUSE THERE IS A NEED. Not all pet owners view their companions as 'throw-away commodities'. Mine were members of my family, loved as much as a son or daughter. If we are to judge people for surrendering their pets to a shelter, we should first try to walk a mile in their shoes. >I hope that anyone of us on the FML won't feel like they can't post for new >homes because of the way some people feel. I think we could arrange a better forum for posting such information. For now, alt.pets.ferrets would seem to be the place. In the future, with everyone's help, rec.pets.ferrets would be happy to receive shelter available lists. A Call For Votes is expected on rec.pets.ferret in a few weeks. Your 'yes' vote will help make it a reality. Roger McMillian <remove 'mapson.' from my address to reply> [Moderator's note: But I don't understand how a place like alt.pets.ferrets, which is accessible to anyone on a whim, is a better place to look for a home for a ferret than this dedicated list, where one has to ask to join (and thus presumably already have an interest). BIG] [Posted in FML issue 2094]