C. Cabal wrote of a curious ferret accessing the dryer drum through the
exhaust hose:
 
<   Finnegan managed to tear through the dryer hose and was doing something
<in there when I turned it on the other night.  I heard a horrible
<Thump-Thump-Thump & I knew what had happened.  He came stumbling out at the
<same instant that I turned off the machine.
<   The poor little guy!
 
  Almost the same thing here; one of my guys shot into the backyard vent
while the dryer was *on*.  I was watching him the whole time thinking nah, he
won't.  I don't know what _he_ was thinking...but he did.
  I jammed my hand up into the vent, barely grabbing his tail/rear end, and
tried to pull him out, but he made that chittering "you're stepping on my
foot" sound, so I let him go.  What now?
The 40 yd. dash to the dryer was on:
  Going 'round the side of the house I clipped the corner -- minor damage to
my upper arm (stucco's rather abrasive), slight bleeding; a beautiful cut
through the open slider, screen door not quite so open -- landlord only
charged me $50; almost over the coffee table -- bruised shin; into dining
table -- sent other ferret scurrying for the sofa -- ferret's piece of mind
shattered, no further damage; the adrenalin charged yank at the bi-fold doors
ripped the knob off the screw, and the guide wheel out of its seat -- fixed
that later, no damage. You gotta keep those things _closed_, ya know.
   Upshot:  Arlo (the snooping-into-the-hot-exhaust-dryer-hose-invading,
I-haven't-a-care-thinking, reckless snake) had a cut on his upper lip.  The
poor thing.  Woody (the "other ferret") recovered quickly enough to slip
under the washer while I was extricating Arlo from the dryer.  The jerk.  If
they weren't so outright friendly and likable in other ways there wouldn't be
ferrets, would there?
 
P.S. I'll bet Finnegan's fine.
P.P.S.  I'll double that he would've done the same thing again if you hadn't
removed the opportunity.
 
To W. Douglas:
 
  No one in his right mind thinks you're a "horrible" parent.  I've worried
(as have others) over bouts of diarrhea and vomiting, but the ratfinks are
pretty tough.  They don't seem to show many signs (unless you're an expert)
until they're really sick.  A ferret owner can become stool-inpection
compulsive if s/he's not reasonable.  JJ's time had come; you made it easier.
[Posted in FML issue 1138]