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Chris,
 
 I just returned from relocating illegal ferret number 36 or 37, I
have lost count. I have been relocating ferrets out of California
for the last year. It is a long story of how I got started doing
this and why but I thought I would write to let readers of FML who
live in California know that if they should lose a ferret in this
state there is hope, and some tips to maybe help them at least
have some say in how the critter is relocated. The California
Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) has been allowing the owner
five days to relocate the ferret out of state. If the owner can
not afford to transport the ferret, CDFG has been calling the
California Domestic Ferret Association (CDFA) President Bill
Phillips, and giving him the option of relocating the ferret. Bill
then calls one of the people who relocate the ferrets and that is
what I do. I am a Commercial pilot and own a small airplane and I
fly to the airport nearest to the CDFG office and an officer meets
me with the critter and I fly it out of state to either Arizona or
Nevada and the "California Convict" is adopted out.
 Most of the ferrets I have relocated do not have a name and CDFG
does not know any thing about them as most are found wandering
into someone's yard. Some are confiscated and even then the CDFG
will not tell me anything about them, for the obvious reasons. An
interesting thing is that most of the confiscated kids have been
reported to CDFG by an estranged or ex-husband. ( If I can't have
the critter, you can't either. ) Also, neighborhood disputes
result in a call to CDFG. Sometimes the CDFG officer that
confiscated the ferret meets me and I find out a little about the
critter. The most recent one was named Willy and was taken from an
eleven year old boy who lived with a seventy year old grandmother.
For kicks the boy would gather up the neighborhood kids and put
Willy in the pen with the dog and the fight was on. A teacher that
lived on the block called the CDFG. When the CDFG officer gave
Willy to me he told me the story and said Willy was real mean. I
started for Las Vegas and decided not to go because of bad
weather. I took Willy home to wait out the weather and because of
prior commitments I could not take him for two weeks. The first
day when I tried to put him in a cage, he went for my face
snapping and hissing. To make a long story short, two weeks later
when we arrived in Las Vegas he was giving Lynn, his new Mom
kisses. Well, enough of that except to say I have yet to meet
a " mean " ferret.
If you lose a ferret in California :
1. Call CDFA. Voice 707-431-2277  Fax 707-431-2769
2. Call the local Humane Society, Animal Shelter, Pound.
3. Call CDFG. ( You may be given the chance to at least relocate
   your critter.)
4. Walk your neighborhood and hand out flyers with name, and tele.
5. BE VOCAL about your loss, most people want to help. You have
already broken the law by having the ferret, at least be
responsible enough to keep it from being put down.
 A friend recently found her ferret after walking the neighborhood
and noticing a dish of dog food with that familiar trail of
dropped pieces on the way to hiding to eat it. A stop at the house
revealed that the owner had seen " Bandit" and did not know what
kind of animal it was but put out the food to lure it out again.
The next night "Bandit" was captured on the porch and returned
home, sleepy, tired and very hungry. ( YUK, Dog Food ! )
 
[Posted in FML issue 0283]