It has been a great ferret week at our house.  To begin with, we had to
have our dear Rascal put down on Monday.  He has been ill for over a year
due to a possible stroke.  We have nursed him, cajoled him, exercised
him and loved him - but finally he gave up the fight and was in distress.
Good-bye sweet Rascal.
 
The same night I couldn't find Harley anywhere.  I ended up staying up
all night squeaking toys, searching everywhere inside and out to no avail.
Finally, the next afternoon we found him in the bottom of a golf bag
stored in the basement.  We thought he was trapped and couldn't get out -
but he returned to the bag later - must have thought it was a deep rabbit
hole.  The bag has now been removed.
 
But, the most horrible thing happened to Ozzie.  I placed ferret laundry
in the washing machine and then got distracted and left the lid up.  My
husband came along and started the machine later.  Ozzie had crawled in.
Ozzie came racing upstairs later that afternoon soaking wet.  First we
thought he must have been playing in the dog water dish, but no.  Then
we checked the toilet, but that wasn't it.  Lastly we checked the washer
and sure enough, there was water splashed out in front.  Somehow, Ozzie
climbed out during the wash cycle.  How he managed to lift the lid and
jump out will remain a mystery to me.  We are so grateful he wasn't
killed.  He was quite frantic for a few hours and smelled strongly of
laundry detergent.  Never again, will the lid be left up on the washer.
It could have been such a disastrous lesson in ferret proofing.
[Posted in FML issue 3695]