I'm feeling desperately sad and without hope at this point and I'm turning
to the list for advice.  I'm also hoping that people (such as Bob Church)
who have a good understanding of ferret behavior can answer some of my
questions.  My baby has now been missing (in Central NJ) for over 5 days
(by the time you read this).  We've only had one promising sighting and
that was last Tuesday morning a good 4 blocks from my home.  Since then
nothing.  All day Tuesday it was chilly and rainy.  Wednesday and Thursday
have been rather cold with temperatures only 23degrees when I was out
looking at 7am and this morning it was accompanied by a hard frost.  Can an
8mo ferret continue to survive in these conditions?  I've received some
wonderful notes of support but I can't help dwelling on an article I read
many months ago about how escaped ferrets only live about 3 days on their
own.  I just fall apart whenever I think about this and about what she is
going through.  I'm surrounded by a rather large housing development but
the homes are interspersed with small patches of woods.  Also on several
sides of the development there are 100's of acres of woods.  How likely is
a ferret to stay where there are people or is she just as likely to head
out into the woods?  How likely is she to still be in the vicinity in which
she was spotted on Tuesday?  I keep going back through that area, probably
10 times a day but is my time better spent searching somewhere else now?
How likely is she to jump down into someone's window well or street drain
and not be able to get back out?  Will she seek out people and shelter or
just keep roaming and hiding?  How likely is she to find her way back home,
especially considering she may have been 4 blocks away last Tuesday?  How
likely is she to be killed by someone's cat or dog or a wild animal?  With
the cold, will she be less active & tend to just sleep?  How much cold can
she handle?  What can she possibly find to eat & where would she drink?
I'm losing my mind with all the what-ifs & should-haves.  I'm still in such
a state of disbelief and shock.
 
I've put out 100's and 100's of flyers - one in every mailbox and 1 on
every lightpost and sign.  I try to replace them as quickly as they
disappear.  I've notified the police, humane societies and area vets.  I've
put signs up at pet stores, grocery stores, bagel shops & Dunkin Donuts as
well as other shops.  I've run Lost ads in the area papers.  I drive around
looking and calling & speaking to people from 7am until 11pm at night.  I
pray and I try talking to her.  I've put out blankets and food with her
buddies smell but at this point she's probably long gone from my yard.  I
had one in the yard where she was seen but after 24hours I took it back
figuring she was long gone from that area.  Am I missing something?  What
more can I do!?  At what point must I face reality & stop putting up the
flyers & driving through the neighborhoods - my husband is afraid we'll
soon be antagonizing the neighbors if I keep it up and that they then won't
tell us even if they do spot her.  :-(
 
Diane & the gang, weeping in NJ
[Posted in FML issue 2520]