Part three of three: Yesterday, Gus had bailed out over enemy territory from the rear wing window of a minivan. Time was approximately 4:45 A.M. Saturday morning, speed 20 mph, location somewhere along a 15 mile 'drop zone' extending through three towns. Weather was cool, clear and dry, with a full moon. Highest probability estimate of location was along the road (drop zone) in the second town which contained many brand new 'trophy' homes with very long driveways, and three car garages. Wildlife including many carnivores were abundant throughout the area. I had received a call on Monday from a very nice lady about a quarter of a mile back from the road who told me that she thought she had seen Gus. We left the carry cage just inside her garage side door with water and food. On Tuesday I received a second call... The message this time was from the Sign Warden from the middle, high probability town, (the town actually pays people to do this job). He was informing me that I had posted 'illegal signs' on nearly every tree and post in 'his' entire town, (150 signs) and the penalty for this was $300 per sign, per day. He was willing to cut me some slack, considering the circumstances... but the signs would have to be removed immediately. By Thursday, things were really looking bleak. The signs were down, we had received no calls, the food remained untouched, and every morning there was a fresh set of clawed tracks in the mud near the pond. The surveying and construction crews were keeping an eye out, but I was pretty much resigned to Gus's being lost in hostile territory. He had been in great shape, the weather was very pleasant, and water from several sources was nearby; but the land really belonged to nature, and several carnivores had apparently moved in to take advantage of the disruption caused by man's taking over. My clients were pressing for attention, and I couldn't think of anything else to do in any event. Then the answering machine told me that I had another message. It was from the Police department in the third town telling me that another woman had called the dog officer and reported seeing a ferret nearby. It wasn't light yet, and I had a client to visit first so I put off the call, and this time Poppie (our dog and Gus's friend) went with me to keep company. First we headed out with a squeaker toy to check out the garage and surrounding area. Again the food and water were untouched, and the nearby pond showed plenty of activity. Around nine o'clock I called the Police and managed to get in touch with the new caller. She told me that she had put a ferret in a large computer box on her driveway. She was at work now, she hadn't seen any of my signs, but if I wanted it.... she gave me directions on how to get there. She lived more than a half a mile by car from the first location, on the opposite side of the road which I had been traveling, and back along another lengthy driveway. I was wondering if this new ferret would ever measure up to Gus, whether he would be in good health, and of the many people who are so unaware of what great companions these guys can be. I think I said something like "Well let's see what we have here." as I opened the top, looked in...., and spotted a rather embarrassed looking Gus Gus ferret!! Much thinner, very tired, and ravenously hungry, but unhurt and Gus none the less. I put him on the car seat, there was a blur and he kinda like 'disappeared'... only to reappear a microsecond later next to the food dish. Quick trip back to get the carry cage and thank the nice lady, who said that "yes that was him", and we headed home. Tomorrow, a quick postlude and some lessons learned. [Posted in FML issue 4272]