On Fri afternoon, my neighbor brought me over her paper (the Minneapolis Star Tribune) and said to read the article on ferrets. I thought I'd tell you guys about it for the heck of it. The headline is "Fans of furry little pets ferret out an apology- 'rabid' comment was biting to some aficionados, but no harm was intended" It's the "backfence" section, written by James Lileks. Here is a summary: "It's National Apologize to Ferrets Day, since he used the phrase "rabid ferret" in a column. Well, he got a lot of nasty messages from several ferret owners who thought he was spreading antiferret propaganda just by using "ferret" and "rabid" in the same sentence. No such slur was intended. He said that he doesn't judge other people's choice in pets, except for giant snakes. The only good thing that can be said about a giant snake is that it DOESN'T come when you call. This overdue apology was prompted by him seeing a MODERN FERRET magazine in a magazine store. He went on to say some snide remarks that he was afraid to pick up the magazine, "lest I read about the new X-2034QZ Ferret with optimized olfactory circuits and upgradable optical processors". He also commented that ferrets might be "bent on world domination" or something like that. You can see the article yourself at: http://webserv1.startribune.com/cgi-bin/stOnLine/ folder?FOLDER_ID=804 send comments to: [log in to unmask] On another note: my Katie had exploratory surgery yesterday. The vet found some nodules on her pancreas and said that a section of her stomach was elongated. He added that there was still food in her stomach during the surgery (although she hadn't eaten for about 6 hours)--so he thinks that her stomach might not be emptying. He took biopsies, so I just have to sit tight and wait for the results. She's been eating tiny bits of food every 2-3 hours since I brought her home. She's been having black stools, so I called the vet Fri afternoon and they prescribed Biaxin and Amoxicillin (for 2 weeks)to try to kill off the heliobacteria. They also suggested a tad bit of Maalox every 6 hours to try to settle her stomach. Hopefully I can get thru the weekend, with her eating at least some food. Lori, Jeff Katie (momma my tummy hurts) Kaylin (hey, why can't I see my sister) [Posted in FML issue 2147]