I lost Dervish today.  Don't panic, she's safe and sound now.  But it was
quite an ordeal.
 
I had to leave for class at 11:00, so this morning I was upstairs and
Dervish had full run of the house.  It's ferret-proofed, so I never thought
it would be a problem.  When it was time for me to leave, I went to get
her.  I figured she was asleep under the couch or one of her other hiding
places.  But I couldn't find her.  I didn't have much time, so I figured
I'd leave her loose, since she'd probably sleep anyway.
 
I came home around 1:00, and figured there'd be a tell-tale poopie pile
to let me know she'd emerged.  Nothing.  I started to get frantic, and
retraced the entire morning.  I hadn't opened the outside or garage doors,
except the front door when I left.  All the cupboards were shut firmly.
FFZ rooms were closed up.  Dervish was nowhere to be found.  I got all her
favorite lures: squeaky football, empty coke bottle, nail polish bottles.
None of those sounds lured her out.  I sat down in the middle of the
kitchen floor and just started crying and praying.  I thought I heard a
faint scratch from behind the wall ... there was no opening anywhere that
led to the wall.  I checked under the oven and in the broiler, and in all
the cabinets.  I heard another scratch, this one more distinct.  It sounded
like it was coming from the fridge.  I opened it (again) but no ferret.
And there was no hole or entrance point that led to the under-fridge part
with the vents and such, not even a tiny gap.  I figured I'd imagined it,
and went into the living room to think.
 
A half hour later I heard it: the familiar Dervish sneeze.  I ran into the
kitchen again, and I heard movement coming from under the fridge.  I pushed
it away from the wall (it's usually about four inches away ... Dervish can
walk back there, but I can get her out easily, it's an open space), which
was pretty difficult considering what a tiny, wimpy person I am.  I
couldn't find any opening, but I heard Dervish sneeze again.  Then I
realized it.  The fridge has a heavy sheet of cardboard fitted into it in
the back ... Dervish must have nosed it out, crawled in, and had it snap
back into place, trapping her.  Not that she minded, I'm sure.
 
I essentially ripped the cardboard off, and there was a sleepy-looking
Dervish, none the worse for her experience (THANK GOD!).  She ran out, used
a corner, and got busy hiding the nail polish bottles I'd brought down.
 
Now when my mom comes home I'll have to explain why there's gray tape
holding the cardboard to the back of the fridge.
 
I urge everyone to check their refrigerators just to make sure their
fuzzies don't discover a weak spot!  I swear I lost ten years off my life
today!!
 
-(TX) Meghan and Dervish the WonderFerret ("What's all this commotion?  I
was just having a nap.")
[Posted in FML issue 2606]