Hi Everybody.... I have been matching ferrets and handicapped ferret parents for almost 20 years... Please tell your husband for me that fuzzys are the most intuitive little critters there are.. I have seen rowdy goofy fuzzys go flat on their tummies and creep slowly up to a handicapped person and veeeeery slowly hold out a paw or nose to offer a hello.. then veeeeery gently hold very still on the lap of the person and accept whatever love that person is able to give in the form of petting and hugging.. then veeeery slowly ooooze down onto the floor and when a few feet away go into the crazy goofy stuff ferrets do.. I have NEVER seen any ferret offer a nip or even a scratch to someone who is in any way handicapped even the invisible handicaps.. These critters [animals] are smart and very very clever.. I had one girl who fell in a hall and simply couldn't get hold of anything she could use for leverage to regain her chair that had scooted down the hall when she fell trying to pick up a book she had dropped on the floor.. the hall was slick hardwood [that got fixed fast you can bet] and she was finally in tears from the chill and from frustration.. her ferret came over to her and watched and watched.. but when she started to cry he disappeared like a rocket down the stairs and around to the door of her parents area..she had an apartment of her own with a stair elevator and so on all fixed up for her so she could be at home but have her own private space as well... Beau, the ferret, hit that separator door like a grenade going off.. and kept jumping at it and thumping it and attacking it until her parents came to investigate.. then he ran up and down the stairs like a maniac until they followed him and got to the top where they saw their sobbing daughter laying on the cold floor. They immediately got her up and back into her chair.. the chair now has a LEASH and Beau has two new ferret friends.. They all swear he single handedly saved her from what was potentially a very serious situation since they were just leaving for a full day of shopping and friends. So for what it's worth.. I think a ferret would be an excellent critter companion. dayna and the woozles from the MMOMM rescue/shelter [Posted in FML issue 2151]