Hello everyone!!!  I've missed you all so much!  I am back on line
temporarily - this week only at [log in to unmask]  I am not subscribed
to the FML yet so any responses will have to go to my temporary e-mail
address.
 
Jitterbug has recovered completely from her illness and almost all her hair
has grown back.  The trip across the country was wonderful and I took both
ferrets into the Grand Canyon with me (I brought plenty of water and food
for them of course).  Wouldn't you know the tourists were often more
interested in my two adorable animals than the Grand Canyon!  Ferrets should
be declared the eighth wonder of the world.  We posed for a million
photograghs and I spent a lot of time answering questions.  We entered
California with no problems, but I soon had another harrowing experience.
 
About a month after we were settled in California my boyfriend let the
ferrets out and accidently didn't shut the door all the way.  By the time I
got home, Jitterbug had made her way out the front door and into a neighbors
apartment (he was receiving a UPS package so his door was open).  Nobody
knew what she was and they assumed she was a wild animal (I didn't tell
anybody I owned ferrets when I moved in for obvious reasons).  They kept
trying to put her outside, but she kept coming back.  Finally the UPS guy
said he would take her home and take care of her.  This all happened at
about 5:00 and I didn't get home until 10:00.  While I was searching outside
for Jitterbug with a flashlight my apartment manager came out and asked me
what I was looking for.  I told him I lost a rare "guinea pig" and he told
me what happened.  I called UPS immediately and asked them to trace who
would have been at our address at 5:00.
 
I left several urgent messages and couldn't sleep that night.  The next day
at work, my apartment manager beeped me and when I called him he said the
UPS guy showed up that day and had bad news.  He said that on his way home
he ran into an animal control guy and decided to find out what kind of
animal it was so he could feed her properly.  The animal control guy told
him it was a ferret and they were illegal and therefore he had to confiscate
the animal.
 
I was horrified and immediately called that number you e-mailed me for the
ferret rescue service.  I spoke to Hildy and she said don't panic yet, call
all of the animal control places and try to find her (the UPS guy didn't
know which one had taken her).  She said to show them my out of state
drivers license and say I didn't live here, I just came for thanksgiving and
didn't know they weren't allowed in California.  She said they might give
her back to me then.  So I spent all day on the phone with every animal
control agency in LA (they put you on hold for over an hour sometimes) and
they all denied having any ferrets.  So I call the UPS guy and get a
detailed description of the guy he says took jitterbug, and call the one
animal control place that really had jurisdiction where she was picked up.
There is a guy who was on duty that night who fits the description but he
insists he never picked up a ferret and that he was nowhere near the corner
where she was picked up.  At this point I think it is hopeless and just pray
that wherever she is, she is safe.  My boyfriend feels terrible, I feel
terrible, and we both continue to pray that she will somehow come home.
 
Three nights later, I was just about to give up all hope, but I still prayed
that night.  The following morning the UPS guy calls me, upset, and asks if
he can come over.  I say sure and he comes over with his 2 nine year old
boys and ***Jitterbug***!!!  It turns out he lied about the whole thing.
After he took her home he told the boys they could keep her and it wasn't
until the next day that he found out she belonged to someone else.  He and
his boys already fallen in love with her so he lied.  He was crying and
appologizing to me the whole time he explained what happened.  He it just
got harder and harder to tell the truth after he had lied, but he couldn't
sleep at night so he eventually decided to fess up and take her back.
 
I was so happy to see her that I couldn't even be mad at this man.  I told
him that he and his boys could visit Jitterbug whenever they wanted.  Later,
when I thought about it I couldn't believe the courage it must have taken to
bring her back.  He didn't know if I would be furious or if my boyfriend
would beat him up - or even worse, if I told his boss he would have surely
been fired (he took Jitterbug while working).  I am just so happy to have my
family back together again!  Monkey was unbelievably lonely when Jitterbug
was gone.  She wouldn't play and hardly ate and I was really beginning to
worry because I didn't think I could even get another ferret since I'm in
California now.
 
In any event things are finally back to normal here.  I miss you all so much
it hurts.  I also wanted to thank all of you again for your kind words and
tremendous support while Jitterbug was ill.
 
     Love and Dooks to all,
 
     Rebecca, Jitterbug and Monkey
[Posted in FML issue 1774]