Here's an incredible ending to what could otherwise have been a horrible
tale...Saturday night, I was taking the new cat to a friend's house for
the night to give the ferrets some well-needed alone time, and apparently,
Buttons decided to sneak out into the hall.  Normally, this wouldn't be a
big deal because the hall is inside our apartment building and there are
3 separate doors between my door and the exits.  But, since I was gone
overnight, apparently someone at some point someone either opened the door
for her or she managed to sneak out.
 
I came home and saw a huge hole dug in the carpet in front of my door, a
couple of ferret poopies in the corner, and a cup of water that someone
had set out for her.  My heart just sunk.  I immediately knew what had
happened - I could almost see her laying in front of my door - and
alternated roaming the building with walking around the outside, calling
her, about once an hour for most of the night.  This morning I called the
Humane Society, the APA, and the city pounds, without any success.
 
My last call - a call I really didn't want to make - was to Kurt and Sara
Peterson at FURRY.  I say that I didn't want to call because I knew it was
the last chance for me to find her, and for them to have her would mean
that she would have gotten outside and roamed around - a prospect I didn't
even want to think about.  But I called, and they had gotten a call from
some people who found a little girl, pretty much across the street from
me, and gave me the number.
 
When I went to pick her up, they said that she had gone into their
apartment building and was insistently scratching at the upstairs
neighbor's door.  The guy upstairs thought she was a rat, and brought her
down to his friends to show them.  By the grace of God, they had seen FURRY
at a nearby PetsMart a week or two ago, called PetsMart, got the number,
and contacted FURRY.  Hence, I have Buttons back - dirty, scaped up and
exhausted, but home.
 
I cannot thank the Petersons enough for their help!  Their dedication to
education days - they regularly go to 7 area pet stores - is directly
responsible for reuniting me with Buttons.  If they hadn't gone to
Petsmart, the people who found Buttons wouldn't have known what to do
with her, or maybe even what kind of animal she was.  I would have put up
neighborhood signs today, but who knows what would have happened then --
the point is that community education really does make all the difference.
 
BIG HUGS to everyone at FURRY!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Melissa
Mishka & a tired, but happy, Buttons.
[Posted in FML issue 3039]