Question for Sredni

Sredni,


Last night when we got home, our pit bull was playing with one of our ferrets. So, what do you make of this?


John

it looks like you are ferreting out a bully pulpit for him.

I just threw Bingo, my 14-week-old kitten, into the back yard. I couldn't stand to watch him torment my pit bull any more. Every time Lucy is awakened by bingo's claws being imbedded in her tail, she looks at me as if to ask, "Why?"

<font color= red>There have been great discussings and much shaking of heads over this sort of issue. There is even one isolated case of blood drawing. Sredni shall not elaborate.


Sredni will break it down:


It is a double edged sword.


On the positive side, it is good for your pit bull. It will gain self esteem and a general wellbeingness from its association with ferrets. The noble and wise nature of ferrets will hopefully rub off on the pit bull. This will allow the pit bull to balance its loving and hating natures. This can only be good for all.


On the negative side, you must protect against the opposite effect. In the presence of such greatness as Sredni's cousin ferrets, the pit bull may develop feelings of inadequacy and self loathing. This is only natural. Imagine as a child, if you were in the presence of say, Ghengis Khan, Ghandi, Albert Einstein, wrapped into one boy hood friend. As you can see, therein is the double edged sword.


Chances are good that the esteemed Poker Veteran was brought up amidst long, low, yellow brown pole-cat ferrets. We all are grateful benefactors of that.


Sredni has only summarized the findings of the ferret think tank.


Sredni Vashtar, some of Sredni's best friends are pit bulls.</font>

Like you, your pitbull is abnormal. Roop Roop ate my ferret two years ago. He is normal. You and your pitbull may be inflicted with primitive personality structure and borderline personality disorder.

I got a big smile reading your question, imagining how Sredni would respond. His response exceeded my expectations.


Remember Carson's Karnak routine where he knows all, tells all? Sredni is 100 times better.

PV<


Whaddya mean "borderline"?


John

Phat Mack,


Ezra (we got him from the pound, hence the name), our nine year old cat, and the pit don't get along well. But, the one time they mixed it up, Ezra latched on with both claws, drawing blood from the dog's snout.


John

Pit bull is a name commonly applied to any of several breeds or crossbreeds usually having some mixture of bulldog and terrier. Pit bulls were once used for attacking bulls and bears and for dog-fighting matches. Pit bulls have occasionally attacked, and even killed, human beings. Breeds sometimes called pit bull include the American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, bull terrier, bulldog, bullmastiff, and Staffordshire bull terrier, as well as various crossbreeds.


During the 1980's, the Humane Society of the United States reported that pit bulls were involved in about two-thirds of all deaths resulting from dog bites in the United States. Many people blamed pit bull attacks on the "natural aggressiveness" of the dogs. However, most experts faulted irresponsible owners, who may have abused the dogs or raised them to attack. Many experts also have stressed the difficulty of identifying a dog as a pit bull. According to the American Kennel Club and the United Kennel Club, no dog involved in a fatal attack had been registered by their clubs.


Largely as a result of pit bull attacks, some communities in the United States and Canada have passed laws to protect people from dangerous dogs. Some of these laws prohibit or restrict the ownership of certain breeds. Others require registration and liability insurance for owners of dogs that exhibit unprovoked, aggressive behavior.


Ferret is a type of small mammal that belongs to the weasel family. Ferrets have long, slim bodies and short legs. If frightened, these animals can discharge a strong-smelling fluid from scent glands under their tails. There are two kinds of ferrets—the domestic ferret and the black-footed ferret.


The domestic ferret is often kept as a pet. It was originally bred in ancient times to hunt rats and rabbits, but it is seldom used for hunting today. The domestic ferret is a descendant of the European polecat, which was once found throughout Europe. The terms ferret and polecat are often used interchangeably.


Male domestic ferrets are up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) long, including the tail. Females are smaller. Domestic ferrets vary in color from nearly white to nearly black. Most have creamy-colored fur with dark hair tips, feet, and tail, and a "mask" of dark fur around the eyes. Many owners have the scent glands of pet ferrets removed, but the animals still have a musky odor from other skin glands.


The black-footed ferret is native to western North America. It resembles the domestic ferret, but it is slightly smaller. Black-footed ferrets have dull yellow fur that is slightly darker on the back. Black-footed ferrets have black feet, black tail tips, and black fur around the eyes.


In the past, black-footed ferrets were found throughout the Great Plains. They depended on prairie dogs for food and lived in underground burrows made by prairie dogs. Since the late 1800's, however, prairie dogs have been eliminated from much of the Great Plains by ranchers who consider them pests. Probably as a result of this decrease in the number of prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets have become extremely rare. They are classified as an endangered species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.


Scientists once thought black-footed ferrets were extinct. In 1981, however, a population of more than 125 black-footed ferrets was discovered in Wyoming. Over the next several years, many of these animals died of distemper. Because scientists were concerned that all the wild ferrets would die from the disease, the remaining animals were captured. Scientists have been breeding the ferrets in captivity. In 1991, they began releasing these ferrets into western wilderness areas.


As you can see Sredni has nothing on me.


Vince

Nothing unusual. Most dogs enjoy chew toys.