Well, not to study, but to be furry little educators! After the horror of the Spokane incident - I can't put it out of my mind, especially when one of my little guys comes to me for a hug :( - I thought I'd share a positive experience with ferrets and kids. Our 5th grader, Chris, has been wanting to take "his" ferrets to visit his class. His teacher was not fond of the idea (not an animal lover), but to her credit, she pursued the request and got permission from the principal and school nurse for the visit. So last Friday, I packed all six of them into our old (small) cage, and off we went. All six of them with their fluffy winter coats were quite a sight in that little cage! Several mothers picking up their kindergardeners stopped us on the way in to admire them. All but one knew they were ferrets, and none of the mothers were afraid, which was heartening! The principal stopped by to have a look too. When it was time for their appearance, we put the cage up on a table so all the kids could see them. I took the sleepiest one I could find, Buckwheat, out of the cage and held him while I explained a little about ferrets and answered questions. A few of the kids had been in Chris's 3rd grade class when our first two ferrets, Clover and Alfalfa came for a visit. So they were happy to see Clover and Al again. Then it was time for recess, but about half the class stayed back and begged to hold a ferret. At first I said no, because I'd been told that was one of the conditions of the visit. But their teacher said it was OK, seeing, I think, that our guys were very docile and friendly. So out they came! I thought perhaps two at a time, but the kids were very good with them, so we had up to four at a time being held and playing on the table tops. All the ferrets were very well behaved - good little ferret ambassadors! All six of them took turns being held and passed around, and not one of them got squirmy or fidgety. I was proud of them! They were glad to get back home, though, and resume their naps! Nothing monumental here, but who knows what a lasting impact a small, positive experience like this might have for ferret-kind... Nancy [Posted in FML issue 2149]