Wonderful story (brought tears to my eyes) I *have* to share: Recently a woman, her ferret, and her son were bicycling up a mountainside. Keiko, the ferret, was riding in a carrier on the woman's handlebars. They were 1.3 miles up a logging road when they came to a clear-cut area with a viewpoint. They decided to picnic on a log. They'd just gotten underway again when she realized she'd left her bike helmet on the log. So she went back, parked her bike, got the helmet--and when she got back to her bike, Keiko was gone. They looked and called the livelong day till dark--no Keiko. The next day, they returned to look and call--still no Keiko. Same results next day--no Keiko. They contacted Ferrets NorthWest and Edward Lipinski suggested that they rent a live-animal trap from the Humane Society and place Keiko's own bedding from home inside, along with her own food. They obtained permission from the park ranger to set the trap, and added Keiko's favorite treat--watermelon. They returned the next day--no Keiko. The day after, they returned and could see there was something in the trap. Cautiously, the woman approached. She could see that *somebody* was nestled in the bedding. . .a familiar nose appeared. . and, there was Keiko! The three humans plan to write an article, illustrated with photos, for the local Japanese paper ("Keiko" means "little one" in Hawaiian). They hope also to have an article printed in a Seattle-area newspaper. What a story--and it's *true*! Kate 'n' the Em [log in to unmask] "May all your ferret tales end 'happily ever after!'" [Posted in FML issue 0582]