It's 1:40AM and I've just gotten home from the Kent County jail. I'm
hoping writing this will relieve the stress headache. This is the end
to a harrowing day in the life of this shelter mom.

I work from 3:30pm to midnite take Emergency Road Service calls for AAA
in 8 states. My mornings are generally spent taking care of the 40+
ferrets here except this morning turned into chaos.

I received a call from a leasing agent at an area apartment complex.
They had found a ferret on a tenant's deck. I packed up a carrier
and my Surrender Form. The maintenance man had put this ferret in a
nice-sized heavier than usual shoebox & taped it up. It had 2 1-inch
holes for air. While the agent was signing off on the ferret I untaped
the box while talking to this little critter in the box only to be
totally stunned to see a mink .... black as night ... just as stunned
to see me as I was to see him. I snapped the box shut as my heart went
up in my throat and I gasped "That's not a ferret". Totally unnerved, I
explained to the agent they had captured a mink. I was hoping I would
be able to merely take it back to it's home by a river or a creek until
the agent said there wasn't any water around. You should have heard
this thing screaming. I've never heard a ferret make this noise. The
hissing, yes, but not the screaming.

ok, now what.

We have a wildlife rehab center in Grand Rapids but I was closer to the
Humane Society so I went there instead. Nothing. They were closed and
whoever I found knew nothing. So off I went with my mink in a shoebox.
He quieted down when the minivan was in motion. It might have been he
was listening to NPR. I think mink like Fresh Air with Diane Rheam.

Got to the wildlife rehab center (Peg & Roger Markel are wonderful
people) and they didn't want my mink because this is baby bird season
at their place; however, they did put a call through to their Dept of
Natural Resources person ....... voicemail. I told them I would take
the mink home, put him in a carrier and all the DNR guy had to do was
come and get him before I went to work.

So I went home with my mink. He was listening to NPR and was quiet. I
think mink like All Things Considered.

I had been set up to pick up a ferret, not a mink, so I went in the
house to set up a larger carrier. The mink I left in the van in the
shoebox on the floor. I left the back windows open for air. When I came
out, sonofagun, the little @*%^$+^ had chewed a hole in the shoebox and
was gone. He had to have scooted himself out the back windows. I have
a Town & Country and it had back windows that vent out like minivans
do. I marveled at his ability to move so fast, up and out. Across the
street are a couple houses that have wooded backyards that drop to a
nice little ravine with a little creek so I assumed he smelled the
water & off he went.

I was disappointed because I didn't the opportunity to have him
released in a safe area. I was worried because I was afraid some kids
would try to pet the "ferret". I was worried the DNR guy would come
over and fine me for negligence or something.

Oh well.

I went to work. The DNR guy never called.

At lunch, I went to my car to go to Wendy's. I opened the sliding door
on the driver's side .... I don't know why .... and there was a little
poopie. (note: Mink don't poop like ferrets.) I was a little concerned.
I didn't remember seeing it before. I went thru the drive-thru at
Wendy's and on the way back to work, out of the corner of my eye I
caught a flash of black whoosh from the dashboard area to under the
passenger seat. I was totally freaked out. Mr. Mink hadn't escaped!!!
He was holed up in my van!!! I think mink like Talk of the Nation.

All evening I was thinking of what to do. Do I call the police? Animal
Control? How do I get home? Do I try to catch this thing? Where can I
find a live trap? Midnite is too late to call Peg & Roger. The County
cops were always at the Red Lion Restaurant when I use to get out of
work at 10:30pm. Would they be in the parking lot at midnite? I worked
myself up into a dandy stress headache.

Midnite.

I went to our security guard and explained the situation to perhaps get
some help. Not a good idea. She was no help except she wanted to see
the mink. 2 more co-workers came around to see the mink. I told them to
watch carefully by the passenger seat and I turned the inside lights on
by remote. They weren't disappointed. Mr. Mink whooshed from the seat
to under the dashboard & was gone again.

I couldnt' decide if I should drive 5 miles home & call Peg & Roger in
the morning for a live trip or try to find the police. My cops weren't
at the Red Lion. Must be they had out there until the shift change at
11pm. My next thought was to go to the jail where I was sure I could
find somebody. I slid gingerly into the drivers seat, keeping as close
to the door as possible, turned on both overhead lights and did not put
on my seatbelt. If Mr. Mink decided to attack, I wanted out. I think
mink like jazz.

At the jail, 3 women and one police officer were sitting at a picnic
table, obviously on a smoke break. I introduced myself and told them
about my dilemma. For about an hour, I had a couple of officers, the
3 women and a couple maintenance guys trying to figure out how to get
this mink out of my van with no luck whatsoever. There was no one
around from Animal Control. I was really hoping they had a live trap
laying around somewhere. The conclusion was Mr. Mink was holed up in
the dashboard & was not coming out until all was quiet and the coast
was clear.

One positive thing to come out of this was 1 lady had a ferret, and the
other 2 liked ferrets so I gave them my business card & told them about
the Midwest Ferret Fellowship Faire in Grand Rapids October 18.

I went home with Mr. Mink.

So right now there's an open carrier in my van with a dish of Totally
Ferret and a dish of water and a mink. Tomorrow is my day off. I had
things to do and now I have to catch a mink.

Dee
West Michigan Ferret Connection

[Posted in FML 6057]