I usually try to keep my posts light, but somehow I find I just can't keep my mouth shut any longer! I guess I'm just tired of listening to the high and mighty pet owners on this list who are perfect! Lord knows I am not and I have to ask myself, should I even own pets? I know I have entirely too many and should my fortunes change unexpectedly, I'd be in a real pickle, but which one should I not have taken? The horse? Beautiful mare-only 12 years old. Had a leg injury and was being sent to meat! I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time-no I couldn't really afford her much less have a place to keep her, but it was me or glue!!! I took her knowing full well I may not beable to keep her, but I figured it was better than where she was headed! The goat? Right! He's the one I should have let pass! His bladder was about to rupture and he was JUST a goat so the owner said KILL HIM!! Wrong place-wrong time! Two surgeries and $700.00 later, I have a goat who loves me! Best friends with the horse! No wait-it was the hedgehog!! He had no quills left on his body at all!!! Wrong place-wrong time!! I happened to be in the pet store when the woman brought him in! She didn't buy him here, but the place she did buy him wouldn't take him back and she could not afford the vet bills! It was me or a slow painful death! Gee, tough choice!! I could go on- bird with broken wing, blind degu, rat with cancer..... No! I can't afford all this stuff-financially or emotionally! But I can only ask myself what would have happened to them if I hadn't come along? I can't bear to think about it! I whole heartedly agree with not taking more than you can handle-but if a ferret-or any other animal came along tomorrow that really needed me, I don't believe I could turn it down! The girl who is faced with having to part with hers, should not be stomped on-she should be commended! Lord knows she tried! And it sounds like she tried her best- MAYBE HER BEST ISN'T AS GOOD AS YOURS!! But she sounds like a good-hearted loving soul who did her best! Several of her ferrets were adoptees!! If she was able to give these guys a loving home and make even just a short time of their life safe and comfortable-then I say, "you go, girl!!" So as politely as I can say this-some of you need to wake up to the real world-it's not perfect! As for being in the wrong place at the wrong time-sorry, but it was right for the animal and right for me and even though I have way too many mouths to feed, if one more comes along, he's welcome here and I will do what I can for as long as I can! So to Dawn-delete the as*****s and hang in there!! Maybe good things will happen yet! And to the high and mighty-flame away!! The push of a button and you're gone! DELLA and the TUMBLEWEEDS Tyson and Einstein EmmyLou, Howie, Yoda, Peach, UB, Dude, Tiggerr, Piggy, Pooter, Hedgie, Mousie, Bonzo, Alfie and BIG FISH!! [Posted in FML issue 2775]