Hi all. Long time since I've posted! We have been busy redoing the ferret room--wallpaper, paint, a ceiling fan to keep them cooler, new tiles to replace the ones they dug up and dragged off... We also have rearranged some of the furniture in the house, and in doing so, you guessed it! We found lots of little (dried up brown) presents and hidden treasures. I am afraid of what we will find when we actually move! I attended the NYC Health Board hearing. Not one person was there who was in favor of the proposed regulation. I would like to suggest that anyone in NYC who owns a ferret, would like to own a ferret or anyone you can pay, bribe or blackmail to say so should write the Honorable Mayor Rudy Guiliani and voice your opinion that the proposed regulations are ludicrous, based on misinformation, and a violation of the city charter. Also mention that you have serious issues with the Boards legal right to enact such regulations, and that the proposed regulations are seriously flawed in that they do not allow for due process. (I love the term due process!) Be polite, succinct, and stick to FACT. Do not tell him cute ferret tales or rant and rave about California or any other socialist state. Keep your letter to about 500 words or less. Apparantly the Board of Health has issues with ferrets biting and being unstable animals. Use FACT and tell hizzoner that dogs and cats are proportionately far more likely to bite, a greater rabies risk and they are classified in the same catagory of DOMESTIC COMPANION ANIMALS by CDC, HSUS, SPCA, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (their F&G). Rudy loves to feel in control, and loves to butt heads with the various boards in town. This might get his attention, especially if he gets enough mail. Also, to really get his attention, send your letter FedEx or Airborne. Tests prove that mail sent this way gets read. Hope every has a healthy and happy summer, and may ferret math strike! Anne Ryan [Posted in FML issue 2701]