Yesterday it was warm in the house and we had the windows open in several
rooms.  In the evening Norman was in and out with several of his pets (one
at a time - burmese python, ferrets, and hedgehog) - getting fresh air and
neighborhood socialization.  He becomes a "kid and parent magnet" with our
menagerie.  Well, later in the evening he was relaxing inside with me, (I
got home yesterday from the hospital - hernia repair surgery).  Paul, his
Dad and my ex-husband stopped by to check in that we were okay.  While he
was there we got a knock on the door.  Paul answered, it was one of our
neighbors (one the adults that had been visiting Norman and his pets
earlier).  He was holding a dirty looking white ferret - wondering if we
were missing one or could take it in until it's owner was found.  I hobbled
over (while Norman stood in shock) and realized it was Rascal.  Our neghbor
said he was walking a guest out to his car (3 houses up from us) and Rascal
came right up to him.  Rascal can be nippy, but thankfully he was quite
friendly with the neighbor and he immediately thought of Norman.  He told
us he also thought he saw another, very dark colored one running into our
yard.  Norman came alive and ran to his room to check on the ferrets.  One
Ferret (Mittens) was in the window and 4 were on the floor.  That left
Patrick still missing.  Patrick is a dark chocolate color with a black
nose - couldn't have been a worse ferret to try to find in the dark.  I put
Rascal in the Bathroom and Norman put the other 4 in a handy cage.  While
he and Paul went out to look for and call for Patrick, I found flashlights
and batteries.  They took off, after checking our yards, to go around the
corner calling and looking.  Luckily I found one more flashlight and stood
out on the front step shining the light around the yard thinking I heard
something.  Then I saw him coming down the street.  I called to Norman
and Paul, but they couldn't hear me.  Patrick ran under Paul's car and
disappeared into the next door bushes.  I managed to get down the steps and
around the cars.  While I was calling and shining the flashlight into the
next yard, Patrcik came up to me and stood up against my leg.  Thank
goodness for that, I'm not sure I could have gotten all the way down to
reach for him.  Then I had to wait for a few minutes for Paul and Norman
to return close enough to hear me shouting and realize I had found Patrick
(or he had found me!) and to help me get back up into the house.  A
disaster that could have ended very badly, was blessedly short-lived!  If
this had happened 3 weeks earlier, out elderly dog, who hated all other
animals entering her yard and killed tham, passed away from old age health
problems.  If a ferret had gotten into the yard with her, they probably
would not have had a chance.
 
Norman spent the rest of the evening berating himself for being a horrible
ferret owner - for leaving a window up from the bottom instead of the top
as usual.  They had clawed or chewed open a large hole in the screen of
that window.  But the ferrets got some extra loving last night.  I think
I also convinced him was momentary careless - probably from stress over
worrying about me - and if he was a bad owner, they would not have been so
easy to find.  Rascal and Bandit are tired today - they are usually the
ring leaders of trouble and got a little bit more than they bargained for
last night.
 
Linda
and Norman & the 7 fuzzy and sweet terrors:
Frisky, Sassy,  May, Rascal, Bandit, Saint Patrick (Paddy), and Mittens
from Lawrence, KS
with Baby and Handsome watching from the Reinbow Bridge
[Posted in FML issue 3537]