I adopted a big (4.5 lb.) ferret late in December, Stanley. Just a few days after I had him neutered I had to travel for 10 days on business. I left him and his brothers and sister in very capable hands - at a veritable "Ferret Camp" while I was away. Yesterday was the 1st day that everyone was home and the schedule was back to normal. In the evening, I let Stan out for playtime in the kitchen. Katie, Matt, and Al got living room playtime. Al, kept scratching at the Weasel Watcher Gate between the two rooms - he wanted to get Stan out to play. "Okay I thought, you asked for it...." I let Stan out - Katie and Al disappeared. Matt made a nervous poop on the carpet and Stanley decided that the fun thing to do was to start biting an 80 lb. Golden Retriever! Bad idea. Stanley got a time out in the cage and Matt went back to his room. Katie decided to join him and Al hid behind the couch for over an hour - playing with all the toys that were hidden there over the years. I finally moved the couch and put Al to bed (he's deaf it was the only way to get him). I felt guilty so I opened Stan's cage and figured I would let him have the run of the kitchen over night. I went up to bed. I heard some banging noises but I assumed that it was just the old pipes clanking getting the baseboard heating going upstairs... WRONG! When I got up this morning, the gate had been knocked down - looked like an inside job - after their 1st meeting I don't think the dog was too anxious to let the ferret out... Stan must have knocked down the gate himself. First job was to locate the ferret - he was sleeping in his cage. Next job, damage assessment.... Checked all the things that Katie. Matt, & Al go for when I'm not looking. Plants, okay, items on book shelf, okay, garbage can, knocked over but trash in tact. He didn't do anything!?! I think the poor guy just didn't know what to do with his freedom. Nobody to torment (who knows what he did to the dog when I wasn't looking), nobody to play with - he just went back to bed. Not much of an adventure if you ask me! Kristeen, JT, Katie, Matt, Al & Stanley [Posted in FML issue 3307]