Hello Fellow FMLer's! You have probably noticed that I have not posted anything in the FML for a long time now. I have had such a busy schedule of late that it was only possible to skim the posts and reply personally to only a handful. First, my heart goes out to all those that have lost their babies in the last few months and those that are presently sick, and to those who give terminal care. You do more than you know and your extra efforts are not going unnoticed. I wanted to update you all on Tinder's present condition. As you may have recalled, Tinder was diagnosed with kidney failure way back in April and was given only 1-6 weeks left to live. Well, as you can see, it has been about 5 months (or 21 weeks) and Tinder is still with us. She still gets her Lasix Oral Solution (Furosemide 10 mg/ml - as marked on the bottle) at 0.4 ml twice daily. She hates it but I squirt it in very quickly and follow it up with linatone. She still gets her chicken baby food-fresh banana-boost mix twice a day as well and still manages to poop and pee up a real storm. I can see that she has a hard time getting around as her "hospital room" is our newly tiled floor bedroom. The other day I had her outside on the grass and the energy she showed was amazing. The poor dear tired herself out with all her exploring in the plants. She slept a very long time that day but I know she was having pleasant dreams of running through fields of flowers..... perhaps running and dooking with other ferrets, blowing heads off of dandelions and nipping mom at her heels..... Her fluid build-up has now reached into her back legs and higher up into her neck. She is still so wanting of getting herself around that I know the time is not now to let her go. She comes over to me at the computer and she rests her little head on my feet letting me know she wants to be held and so I lift her up and cradle her as I type this post. I want to take this opportunity to thank Sukie publicly for all her help. I haven't been posting to the FML because Tinder's situation was placing me in the middle - between my vet's advice not to let her endure under her present condition, and my own feelings of wanting her around a little bit longer. It was Sukie who finally put things into perspective for me and to her I am eternally grateful. I hope that because of this public message that she is not inundated with pleas for advise. But, without knowing where I could turn, she seemed like the best choice and I was not wrong. So thank you Sukie for taking the time out of your busy schedule and giving me the peace of mind I really needed. Since I have the time today to write a little something more I just wanted to say something about civility. I initially subscribed to the FML because of the free exchange of ideas from others who love their dear little fuzzies. I have found that information posted here is merely the opinions of others and must always be taken with a grain of common sense. Your vet is the only individual who should dole out medical advice. That's not to say you can't offer him some alternative *suggestions* from this newsgroup of which he will do his own research. If you personally don't agree with something someone has written, then you certainly don't have to follow their advice. But I have found that in the limited amount of time that I have to read the postings that the last thing I want to read is why the critic has to tell us all why he/she doesn't agree with the posting. How can freedom of speech continue in an atmosphere of hostility? It would seem to be a stifling situation indeed. I know you're thinking that I am stifling freedom of speech if I wouldn't allow the criticisms to come out. Well, true critisicm is constructive criticism. If you can't find a decent way to say something, then don't say it at all. In some of the postings there has been some debate on the methods and actions of a certain individual and the way he tends to his flock. To this I say, how can you criticize when all you have to go on is the words in this posting. Have you attended this individuals' home and have you seen his methods in action? How can you honestly give an opinion when not all the facts are at hand? The wonderful thing about living in this country of ours is that there are plenty of options in finding out "all the facts". I would first suggest reading the posts with a little more of an open mind. Ask questions; and then ask a lot more questions. Ask others if they know of first hand knowledge of the individual involved. And when you have finally gathered all of the facts, give your opinion knowing full well that you have done all you can do in order to get the information correct. State the problem and why it is a problem, and then enlighten us all with the wonderful solutions that you have researched. I am growing tired of people throwing insults at other members of the FML in regards to the information written. My time is more precious than wasting it on arguments. I am also saddened to see some members have left the FML because of direct criticisms placed upon them by certain individuals in this group. It is their foresight and knowledge that the rest of us will lose out on... So please people, lets keep it civil. Thanks in advance to Bill Gruber who I hope will let me post this! Betty and her Blur O'Fur [Posted in FML issue 2425]