As a long-time ferret chauffeur I can attest to the fact that mesh
carriers are not appropriate for all ferrets.
 
One thing I VERY strongly recommend to ALL ferret owners who EVER have
reason to put a ferret in a vehicle in ANY carrier... which should just
about cover each and every ferret owner:
 
FERRET PROOF CHECK YOUR VEHICLE.  Yeah, I know... YOUR ferret is NEVER
going to get loose in YOUR car.  Yeah, right, huh, Deva, lol.
 
STUFF HAPPENS.
 
If you think about it for a few minutes, you'll dream up all kinds of
possible similar scenarios...
 
You've got two ferrets in a carrier, one starts making some weird maybe
it's dieing sound & you tell your passenger to "check!  quick!" and the
non-noisy ferrets makes an escape into your freeway rush hour moving
vehicle.
 
Result?  YOU panic.  Why?  BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE DANGERS ARE...
or even if there ARE any dangers.  The greatest danger is ALWAYS what you
DON'T know.
 
Brake pedals and clutch pedals ARE THE LEAST LIKELY DANGER!!!!!  If you
can feel him around your feet, he's SAFE!  (Not flaming you, Deva...
you're not alone in this very common, mis-directed worry... it's the
number 1 "reason" given for using pet carriers.)
 
If your brake or clutch pedal goes all the way to the floor your next
trip should be to a repair shop!!!  GET IT ADJUSTED before you suddenly
discover you don't have brakes or clutch!  Some pedals depress close to
the floor, but MOST stop AT LEAST TWO INCHES above the floor.  CHECK YOURS
so that you KNOW if there's a potential danger... DON'T just ASSUME there
is only to later learn that you leaned down to rescue a ferret that didn't
need rescuing and totaled your car when it wasn't even an emergency.
 
EVEN THEN... if your pedal goes down far enough to bruise a ferret... Put
YOUR foot UNDER the pedals so that you can nudge a ferret out of the way
before pushing on the pedal.  YES, you DO have time for this... EVEN IF
you must brake quickly... you have to move your foot to get to the
pedal... you can be moving a ferret out of the way at the same time.
IT WORKS.
 
The REAL vehicle dangers are:
 
- sharp wire or metal protrusions under seats
- openings in seat framework large/small enough for a ferret to get stuck
- holes under the back seat into the trunk compartment
- foam padding under seats or exposed by rips in coverings
- bare or damaged wiring under seats
- the peanuts that didn't make it into your coke
- the contents of your shopping bags
- the rubber thongs the kids lost last week under the seat
- the foam coffee cup from Quik Stop that's wedged by the console
- the rubber bolt covers under the seat
- the rubber buttons on the pager or cell phone in your open purse
- access into the dash
- PEOPLE who move a seat forward or back on it's frame to grab a ferret
- PEOPLE who panic and distract the driver with unsafe actions
 
WHEN A FERRET GETS LOOSE.... DON'T TRY TO CATCH IT WHILE THE VEHICLE IS
MOVING.
 
It's that simple.  Move to the shoulder of the roadway as quickly as you
can SAFELY.  Getting yourself broadsided by an 18-wheeler is not going to
save a ferret from getting cut by a sharp metal edge under your seat or
keep his head from getting mashed!
 
Get real.  Get serious.  LOOK at your vehicle from your ferret's point of
view.  FERRET PROOF your vehicle EVEN THOUGH you never intend to allow
your ferret out of a carrier in the vehicle... it could literally save
your life as well as the lives of those who travel with you.
 
What you don't know can kill you.
 
Debi Christy
Ferrets First Foster Home
 
related article:
"Traveling While Fuzzy"
http://www.geocities.com/ferretsfirst/traveling.html
[Posted in FML issue 3823]