Stephen,
 
Please keep looking for Misty, please do put up flyers even farther away
from your home than you currently have done, and please keep checking the
lost and found section of your newspaper and call about any ferret, no
matter how far away from home it was found.
 
Ferrets can survive in an urban and suburban area for quite some time if
they find a warm spot to hide out in (a garage or crawl space for example),
and a source of food (a cat feeding station for an outdoor cat).
 
Three days ago the Cascade Ferret Network reunited a ferret and owner ten
days after the ferret's escape.  The ferret was found 3 miles from his
home.  It has been cold and rainy up here, and other than being a little
dirty, the ferret was in good shape.
 
Last summer we reunited a ferret with her family after two weeks.  The
ferret was found over fifteen miles away from home, across town, over the
river, and up in the hills almost outside of town.  Her owners had seen the
ad we had placed in lost & found, but didn't bother to call because of the
location.  We (and they) got lucky in that the person who inadvertently
transported the lost ferret from one side of town to the other called us
and told us how he found her in his house and was taking her into work
(across town) so his coworkers could tell him what type of animal it was
(he thought it was a baby opossum) when she leapt from his car as he opened
the door.  Five days later he saw the posters for the lost ferret around
his neighborhood, saw the posters we put up where the ferret was found near
his work and figured out what had happened.
 
Keep looking and good luck to you and Misty.
 
Leonard Bottleman       [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2631]