The ConFurence Group is *this* close to having the long-awaited Dealers' info packets and Artists' information forms ready to mail out, along with the latest Progress Report to let you know how our next convention, ConFurence 2002 is coming along.

We have been busily updating our address database and stuffing envelopes for the last two weeks, and are just about ready to drop them all in the mail (probably on Saturday 1/12).

(To those who plan to participate in the Masquerade, please read to the
end of this message. It contains new information vital to helping your
performance work without a hitch.) [Ed: Click Read More... to see
the full announcement.]

Attention all furry costumers! Do you have a new costume that you're
dying to show off to the world? Then we've got just the place for you to
do it.

Further Confusion will continue the tradition of previous years
and plans to have a costume Masquerade and all students, be you fursuiters
and furry costumers, are invited to enter. This event will be made
complete only if you decide to enter. If you've got the perfect costume
to show off, or if you have the perfect performance in mind for your
costume, then this is your chance to show it to all the attendees, and
maybe win an award.

At least Brazillian furries will have a place to talk and a websearch engine for their websites.

FurryBrasil was created by Brazilian furry fans, and everyfur can join them to help and enjoy the services offered by FurryBrasil.

the Forum (phpBB).

News portal

and Search Engine

Unfortunately FurryBrasil cannot offer free webspace yet.

the URL for FurryBrasil is www.furrybrasil.com.br

As an example of the intellegence and trainability of pound dogs,
Tucker, a puppy abandoned at the Toronto Humaine Society last year has risen through the ranks of Canada's detector dog program exceptionally fast, with an "impressive" learning curve. He's now working at an Alberta prison as a drug sniffing dog.

Before anyone starts to think that Disney is going to dump their 2D tradtional style in favor of 3D, they might want to look at the new trailer for "Lilo and Stitch" which is
right here.

Salon reports that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, anchored in the North Arabian Sea, has its own mascot, Bully the Moose. "I put on the moose suit to spread cheer," says Lt. Cmdr. Terry Chauncey.

Residents in rural areas of Malawi are terrified as hyaena attacks have been attributed in the deaths of half a dozen people since Christmas. This almost unheard of situation has been attributed to overcrowding of habitat, lack of food, even witchcraft. The government doesn't know what's driving the animals to kill and eat people, but plans to send rangers to hunt them down.

I know this isn't furry related, but as an adopted kid, Dave Thomas was sort of a hero for me. The Wendy's founder, and sometimes commercial star, passed away today (Tuesday) of liver cancer at age 69. Besides being a "hamburger flipper", as he would say, he also spent his time and money encouraging kids to stay in school and raising public awareness of adoption.

As Further Confusion draws nearer, the time in which we offer hotel rooms
at the con rate of $99/night for 1-2 people gets shorter. At this time, we
have completely SOLD OUT of both suites AND double rooms, but still have a
number of single bed rooms left. However, you only have until January 12
to take advantage of this rate.

John "The Gneech" Robey, author of The Suburban Jungle, wrote this editorial about some of the recent press coverage furries have received. The editorial includes "Proud to be a Furry" images that he invites others to add to their webpages.

The FC2002 Charity Auction

Further Confusion is just over two weeks away. The events are getting
ready; the panelists are studying; the artists are putting the final
touches on their paintings; and the folk of Tiger Touch and the Comic
Book Legal Defense Fund are hoping for your help.

Click Read More... for the rest of the announcement.

Ferrets in Australia are being dumped in the wild by stupid owners and ferret groups aren't happy. They say breeders are not giving ferret owners enough information to make an informed choice about owning the animals, and because of that the ferrets are suffering.

Specifically, the tendancy to nip and smell is being downplayed, as well as the amount of care ferrets need. Many bad breeders classify them as "easy to care for cage animals".

Ferrets in Australia have already been outlawed in Queensland, and many Oz ferret owners worry such dumps may make them illegal where THEY live too.

It's only a teaser site, but I say "Forget Beauty and the Beast, Disney, and bring this out first!" Coming January 2003.

Plus, in other Disney news, two 'furry' movies also comming out this spring, according to Dark Horizons, are "The Country Bears" and "Lilo and Stitch".

A Guelph vet, Miroslaw Ruka, is trying to set up a hospital dedicated to transplanting organs into seriously ill cats and dogs.
Like humans, cats and dogs often suffer from diseases and cancers of vital organs, and like humans there is a severe shortage of organs and competent doctors to implant them. Unlike humans, of course, most of these animals would have to be put down.

The Cambridge Centre for Medical and Veterinary Services will cost $16.5 million to set up initially, but with an estimated 1.5 % of the North American pet population suffering from a condition which necessitates a transplant, there will be the demand to make up for it.

Kidney and pancreas transplants are planned, but not heart and liver ones, which require huge amounts of blood. Just as there are no animal organ donor cards, there is no animal blood bank.

BBC Online reports a lioness on the Samburu Game Reserve in central Kenya, baffled experts recently when she adopted a baby oryx. The oryx is a type of antelope normally eaten by lions. The lioness defended the oryx from other predators, and even allowed its natural mother to feed it. Unfortunately, the story doesn't have a story book ending. While the lioness was asleep, after caring for the oryx for two weeks, another lion ate the oryx.