PDA

View Full Version : Found.....ferret ?!?!?



puglogic
5-29-12, 3:47pm
Today is living proof that the universe has a sense of humor.

Busy day already, and while letting the dogs out, I noticed a grey flash in the grass. Bunny? Kitty? No, it was a ferret. (the domestic kind)
I put the dogs in the house and sat down on the edge of the deck, and darned if the thing doesn't come slinking through the fence, heading right for me. Climbs up on my lap, investigates my cup of coffee. I doubt I've ever been that shocked.

I put it into one of the dogs' transport kennels for a while, but it seemed very unhappy. So now it's behind a baby gate in the laundry room, rubbing noses with the two dogs through the grate. It was hungry and thirsty. It's litterbox trained, very tame, very funny, and completely unafraid of the dogs -- who are VERY amused by this development. It's even tried to play with them.

I don't particularly want a ferret - nothing against them, just have enough pets already -- and so I've put up posters in the neighborhood, notified the local lost/found shelter, talked to the nearest neighbors, etc. Is there such a thing as a ferret rescue? Am I doing something really stupid by taking this animal into my house? (diseases etc) I was just worried to death that the local free-roaming dogs would tear it to shreds.

My work day is shot, but you know what? I just don't care. This is wayy more fun than answering emails and typing HTML code.

domestic goddess
5-29-12, 4:38pm
HOw fun!
I have a friend who has ferrets, but I haven't spent much time around them. Hers get into a lot of mischief, but she really likes them. It's nice that your dogs are so curious. If this is just a little guy who slipped out of the house, I can't imagine that there would be much of anything to worry about as far as diseases go. If he has been on the loose longer, I would exercise reasonable caution.
I would think that there are ferret rescues; there are rescues for most kinds of pets, including iguanas. Whether there is one close to you may be another thing.
Good luck, and thank you for taking this little guy in!

ctg492
5-29-12, 5:43pm
COOL, Your and Ferret's Lucky Day!
DO keep us posted on the little fellow.

fidgiegirl
5-29-12, 6:02pm
pug, in our area, the Humane Society takes small animals like this. I would also put out the word on FB if you are on it. People who are ferret people seem to know other ferret people.

P.S. Love the image of him climbing right up in your lap!!! :)

bae
5-29-12, 6:56pm
The poor little guy. I'm glad you are helping him out, and hope you manage to find his home for him.

puglogic
5-29-12, 11:30pm
Well, we had a lovely adventurous day. After exploring the entire house, climbing over under and through every square inch, and after a few rousing games of chase with the pug, our guest made himself at home and took a long nap in a one of the (many) dog beds. I'd forgotten how high-energy all the weasel family members are, and that these guys have two speeds: High and Off. I was starting to wonder how much sleep I'd actually get tonight, but this evening, his owners called after seeing one of the flyers, and later sent their sheepish-looking teenager to retrieve him.

Funny. Now I miss the little guy! LOL Thanks for your replies.

bunnys
5-29-12, 11:43pm
I found a ferret once. Sitting on my bed after school one day watching a repeat of Roseanne. I see a flash of movement on the porch and (thinking it's my cat) go to the window to look out. And there's a ferret on the porch!

Go and open the door and he puts his paws right on me.

I didn't even know it was a ferret--just thought it might be. Looked up info on the Internet and found out I could feed him cat food and use the litter box.

I didn't want a ferret either. Next day at school I sent an email to the faculty offering him to a good home. It seems one of the members of the math department and his wife had like 6 other ferrets and loved them. He took the ferret and named him Lucky as in Lucky SOB.

So I was asking him where this ferret came from and according to this teacher he had some special tattoo on his ear marking him as bred by some ferret farm and that he was about a year old. Probably someone was sick of him and just drove through my neighborhood and opened the car door and dumped him. Teacher though he'd been out a couple days as he'd lost some weight. Dumping him was particularly mean as the ferret had basically no defenses and could have easily been picked off by a hawk or something like that.

Happy ending for all.

puglogic
5-30-12, 12:00am
bunnys, I think there's a special circle in hell for people who dump animals, and if there isn't, there should be. Thanks for your story too!

iris lily
5-30-12, 12:01am
This post was so interesting! Keep us informed about what's going on with the little guy.

Float On
5-30-12, 7:39am
Glad his owners came forward, they'll probably have a hard time keeping him at home now that he's had an adventure. They seem to really like returning to the same spots over and over and over...

There is a mink (a cousin) that I see in one of the coves of the lake if I'm out early mornings. He has quite a routine. This tree must be circled to the right, this tree I must climb to the Y and jump, this old tire I must jump into and under, this rock ledge I must go the middle route, this tree in the lake I must swim out to and reach under (mussles), etc...

fidgiegirl
5-30-12, 8:24am
I found a ferret once. Sitting on my bed after school one day watching a repeat of Roseanne.

I thought that's where you found the ferret!! LOL!!!!!

Mrs-M
5-30-12, 11:40am
I love this thread! Great stories, and one real happy ending. Wish you could have posted a picture of him, Puglogic.

domestic goddess
5-30-12, 3:22pm
I'm so glad you found the ferret's family. Maybe he'll come and visit you again sometime.

Tradd
5-30-12, 4:08pm
The mental picture of the ferret playing chase with the pug had me laughing.

I've seen a ferret being taken for a walk by its owner, harness and leash. Very funny. I think it beats seeing a cat on a leash.

pony mom
5-31-12, 10:01pm
Ferrets seem like fun pets but they're probably like a two year old in miniature--into everything!

puglogic
5-31-12, 10:33pm
That's what it seemed like to me, pony mom. I might need quite a bit more energy than I have to spare.....cute, though.