I thought someone would have posted this by now - I've been watching and waiting so I wouldn't be redundant. But I haven't seen anything yet, so... Last Wed. I was getting up to leave for choir rehearsal, and was just about to turn off the TV's 6:00 news, when all of a sudden I saw a sable ferret face grace the screen! It's was KARE-11's Creature Feature, which they air at the end of their 6:00 news program, I think every Wed. Anyway, I'm not sure where the handler was from, but it was a 2-year old named Duncan who was just a sweetheart. He was a little squirmy at first, but after a few seconds calmed down and just stared at the camera. The woman was fairly well informed and didn't provide any misguided information. She mentioned that ferrets are the 3rd most popular pet in America, and that they have been domesticated for about 3000 years. They talked about how they were often used for hunting and clearing barns of mice, and that they can still be used for that purpose in Great Britain, but that hunting with a ferret is illegal in the US. They also talked briefly about the black footed ferret, and that it is a distant relative to the domestic ferret. She was careful to point out that ferrets are entirely domesticated. When asked why people like them so much, she said she wasn't sure as she didn't have one, but people seem to think they are great pets. She gave a "word of warning" (I was waiting for a comment about biting here) that they require a lot of care, that you have to ferret-proof your house, and that they have special diseases that they need to be vaccinated for. The entire time they had ferret facts at the bottom of the screen, including that they are illegal in Bloomington and Burnsville, MN, and "not welcome" in Mpls. Overall, I thought it was a great bit that pointed out ferret basics and wasn't misleading. In fact, she made an effort to dispel misbeliefs about ferrets! And Duncan was a perfect ferret ambassador - the male anchor was quite impressed with him! Kudos to KARE-11! The Creature Feature is always a neat informative bit, and this time is was exceptionally fun! Quick cute story: We had a party for my co-workers on Fri., and one of them brought his 3 year old daughter, Lindsay. She loves animals, so we took her up to see Chumley and Tennessee, and she LOVED them. She was great with them - never grabbed at them, only petted and watched. And the ferrets were fantastic with her and all of my co-workers! Sweet, cuddley and cute! The funniest moments were watching Lindsay watch them as we let them run on a leash outside, and listening to her ask everyone if she could take them upstairs to "show them the Parrots." Thanks to our wonderful ferrets for being their own perfect little ambassadors! [Posted in FML issue 2666]