Hi, I just wanted to reply to Ms. Drakiotes (Sorry if I got the Ms wrong, I can never remember the proper address if you are not sure.... :)) As shelters you all do have to be careful with whom you give ferrets to, but you also have to be willing to trust people. To show you what I mean, I live in Maryland and there is a Shelter near where I live that is VERY strict about who they will adopt their ferrets out too. In fact, they are known more for NOT adopting their ferrets. If when I was looking at getting my ferrets I had gone to them first, I would have done what the man you are writing to had done and bought one from a pet store. This is because they wouldn't have even talked to me once they found out that I have a four year old in my house. Not to mention the fact that we have a lazy boy (sorta its a kids version). Luckily I ran into 2 great shelters who had owners that talked to me rather than turned away from me. They took the time to find out that I had spent countless hours visiting pages and reading about ferrets. They then spent hours talking to me about them and the dangers involved. They made sure I understood what was involved and made sure I just wasn't "Impulse" shopping. Personally, they made me feel very comfortable, because I knew they cared about the ferrets, but they also made me feel like they trusted me. Again, like yourself, I am not trying to upset you or flame anyone. It just that as a shelter runner, you all should educate potential adopters not grill them. If someone feels that you are prying, they will just go to the pet store and get a ferret there, and if they are a "Bad" person to have a ferret then you will just end up with one more ferret in the shelter system, or have a "Good" person with ferrets out there that is soured on shelters. As I said, Shelters are GREAT places to get a ferret (to all potential ferret getters), Cindy, Tom & Jerry are the best! A little (well alot) crazy sometimes, well all the time. And if you are in the Pennsylvania area Frank Wylkes (up in Gettysburg) is awesome! She has LOTS of knowledge and can help you out alot! Sorry for such a LONG speech, I hope I didn't step on any toes. I just feel that telling people NO, is just going to make the situtation worse, Educating them is not hard to do, and if they are right for ferrets, they will likely come to the conclusion themselves. Mike Roth Cindy, Tom & Jerry [Posted in FML issue 2144]