Just for your information! I just learned that my 11 month old white/black-eyed mutt Max is deaf ... just like me! The discovery and realization made me realize why Max gets so scared when I approach him to pick him up. He also gets startled when I tap him from behind and he didn't run away in time. He also often looks back when running away from me. Now that I realized that he's deaf, no wonder he behaves like that! So I pick him up more often to massage him, cuddle him, give him all the physical and visual senses that he needs to be assured that I'm to be trusted. He's so cute. I plan to check the ferret central website for some info on deaf ferrets to find out what more I can do to help Max. Anyway ... I'm happy! :) Monica [Posted in FML issue 2411]