We had a major scare last night.  we got home at midnight and were dead
tired, but the house was pretty hot (we're having a miserable heat wave here
in Seattle), so since our screen door is down for repairs and there were no
ferrets in sight, we put up a minimal sort of ferret barrier and opened the
front door in order to get a little cool night air into the house.  Then we
wander off to do our nightly routine, check on the ferrets etc & forget all
about it.  we're climbing into bed 10 minutes later when we realize that
we've left it open, and that Misha was last seen heading that direction.  we
race to the livingroom and there's no sign of him anywhere.  He's clearly
jumped the barrier (nothing stops Misha when he decides to climb over it) so
clad in nightgown, armed with a squeaky rubber duck and a flashlight, I head
out into the yard berating my stupidity & praying he's alright.  well within
two squeaks, there he was perfectly fine, hopping out from beneath a bush,
desperate to get his duck back to the stash under the couch.  Needless to
say we're putting the screen door back up this weekend, and are well aware
of just how lucky we are that he came back safe & sound.
 
To give me a chance to balance my karma back out from our carelessness this
morning a strange dog appeared in or yard.  She'd been following a nice lady
on a bike for a few bocks across a major street and had no intention of
heading for home anytime soon.  Since she clearly had nursing puppies back
home we were very concerned that she be returned quickly, but she had no
tags.  I tied her to the porch gave her a little water & called animal
control to come & help.  about 10 minutes later I guess she finally got
bored with her great adventure, because she started pulling on her tie in
the direction she'd come from.  I figured that a little walk wouldnt hurt
me, so off we went.  about 2 blocks later I saw a couple wandering around
peering into yards with a puppy in their hands & sure enough we'd found her
owners out searching desperatley to bring her home to the babies.  They had
that same pathetically grateful look on their faces that I must have had
last night when Misha came running up to me.
 
So all the little animals in my neighborhood are safely at home whee they
belong this morning & I feel a little better having passed along my good
fortune to someone else by returning their beloved pet.
 
Eden - grateful to still have 3 guys: Misha, Lemke & Bill (the human one)
 
**********************************
Eden Rain     [log in to unmask]
 
Adobe Systems, Seattle WA
**********************************
[Posted in FML issue 1642]