Hi folks,
 
The dryer hose idea is good, but please be careful!  Let me tell
you what just happen to me a few days ago.
 
We have four ferrets, and yes we also bought an 8 foot vinyl dryer
hose as a toy. The only problem is, what happens when your little
rug rats find the "real" vinyl dryer hose behind the dryer, "play
time"
Dino our youngest ferret and the most active got out of the house a
few days ago, boy was I mad at the kids, because for sure I thought
they had somehow let him out, either by not closing the door all the
way or what, I didn't have any clue how it happen.
So after making a few calls to our local police department and to the
local humane society, we found out that some kind person had turned
him over to the Ferret Fanciers of Greater Milwaukee, lucky for me.
Well, we went and got him out of jail and brought him back home where
he was warm and safe again, running all over the house having a great
time and just glad to be back ( so we thought ).
It was dinner time so the whole family sat down to eat, and there was
little Dino begging for food as usual, so we gave him some of his
favorite food " a cucumber " and off he went, isn't that nice we
thought ?
No more then 15 minutes passed by when there was a knock at the back
door, some guy was yelling from the outside " did you guys lose a
ferret " Nah! couldn't be use, must be the neighbors ferret ( there
are about 3 other families who own ferrets in our neighborhood )
so we sent the kids out to help another kind person find the neighbors
ferret ( again so we thought ).
Ha! isn't it nice that where not the only ones to lose our ferret, I
told my wife ( big smile ).
Then our son walked into the back door and said " look who I got "
" DINO "  when I seen Dino again I almost fell out of my chair "WHAT"
How was that little rug rat getting out of our house ? You guessed it !
THE 8 FOOT VINYL HOSE BEHINE THE DRYER!
He put a small hole in the bottom of the hose and then climbed right
out the dryer vent, it was that easy, only problem was, once he was
out he couldn't get back in, because the part of the dryer vent that
sticks out of the house has a one way vent on it ( it's suppose to keep
rodents out ).
I do believe that Dino thought the "real" dryer hose was one of his toys
and started to play with it.
I have since put a small wire type fence inside the outer vent, where
the vinyl hose meets the outside vent, this fence is very small and is
used to make rabbit housing with, and is plastic coated!
However, I did let Dino go up the hose a few times to show him that he
could know longer get out before putting on a new pure aluminum hose.
If anything I hope this little story will make ferret owners take a
second look at just how well there house if ferret proofed and it is a
good idea to use an aluminum hose in the back of your dryer instead of
a vinyl hose. If your letting your ferret play with a vinyl dryer hose
make sure he or she can't get at the real vinyl hose in back of the dryer!
Hope this helps.....
 
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[Posted in FML issue 0719]