I know this has been mentioned before, but I want to share our recent
story of a lost ferret and how the suggestions of our members here
helped bring her home safely.

Last week I was heading up to the house to do ferret care when my cell
phone rang. It was my friend in the next block up the street. His
neighbor saw a ferret running around at the bottom of my block. Not
knowing who's ferret, (but HIGHLY suspecting it came from my
house...considering the number in residence with proximity to the
sighting) the search party formed. Within talking to two neighbors
closest to the sighting, we found that a neighbor I had talked to
before had found the ferret, knew where to look first and had returned
her to one of the renters that answered the door (who btw also have
ferrets of their own at the house). I walked in asking who it was,
where they were and if they were ok. To my surprise it turned out to
be one of mine. I could not imagine how on earth this could be since
my ferret room door is closed when I'm not there. Did this ferret
have Casper powers? The tenant says "It was the little one"
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH....LISA SIMPSON....things were starting to
make sense. Renter informs me of chain of events he deduced in how
she managed to escape.

There is a little gap between the door and the floor because my house
is sloped. Lisa had shown me before that she could squeeze under the
door with the greatest of ease AND propel over the next obstacle,
the 3 foot partition..(why you ask, do you not have tubing over the
partition?) Good question....because she can get a paw in the very
furthest corner and that is enough for her to bypass this obstacle....
this one is really a handful...she must be part weasel..... Foolishly
thinking that I had one up'd her and remedied the problem, I cut a
piece of french drain tubing and slipped it under the widest end of
the bottom of the door where there was a gap. That little stinker
PUSHED the french drain tubing aside, slipped under the door, over the
partition and out into the common area of the house that my renters
occupy. They didn't notice her out, opened the back door to let out
their dogs and out she went.

What helped find her: Neighborhood awareness. Everyone in a three block
radius knows I have a ferret rescue. They have all seen me walking
(when I could) with ferrets. They know what ferrets look like. You
would be surprised how many people do not know what a ferret looks
like!!! This is what helped Lisa Simpson safely return home.

Lisa was hiding from me when I came up to the ferret room to discuss
her badness. She seemed to have learned her lesson as she shivered as I
corrected her. I felt that she had been scared straight and gave her a
hug, she gave me kisses and I gave her a tiny little tap on the butt
and true to Lisa Simpson form, gave me a retaliatory nip and scampered
off. Kids.

Kimberly Fox
Director/Rescue Mom
Somethin Up My Sleeve Ferret Rescue
http://companiontalk.terrabox.com/SUMS-Rescue.html
Help The Helpless. SUPPORT PRIVATE RESCUE
Pay Pal accepted for donations at this email address.

[Posted in FML 5806]