Missing Ferret Travels 17 Miles From Home
Boots the runaway. (photo by Stephen Swofford)
The latest missing ferret in Boulder, Colorado made it 17 miles from home – without the use of the US Postal Service this time.
Boots was discovered missing by his owner Josh Caldwall earlier this month. Because Josh lets his three ferrets run free in the house, it took a full day or so before he realized that one was missing. Anyone with ferrets knows that they can disappear for many hours, sleeping in the whatever coves and crevices that they can find.
Josh and his girlfriend Jillian started combing the local neighborhood and parks looking for the furry escapee. Josh had been targeting his search near his home in Boulder by posting signs and talking to the local shelters and vets. After his search turned up nothing, he had all but given up hope on poor Boots.
Meanwhile, a ferret had been found by a shopkeeper in nearby Westminster. The cold and tired looking ferret was given to a friend named Lynne Clos who already owned ten of her own ferrets and would be capable of caring for the newly found stray.
Lynne posted ads in the newspaper and on Craig’s List looking for the owner but received no responses. It wasn’t until after a visit to a vet’s office that a connection was made. Evidently, Josh came into the same vet clinic that Lynne used and was asking about any newly found ferrets. The vet contacted Lynne who then contacted Josh. Amazingly, the ferret was indeed Boots. Nobody knows how the rascal made it 17 miles in the cold temperatures.
This original story can be found here.
That is completely amazing; 17 miles! I lost my first ferret 4x and found her at the grocery store, at a neighbors and so on, she was very sneaky and we were very inexperienced 15 years ago. My next wondering ferret got out twice but she would come back, once when I called and another time I called her all over the neighborhood and she was sitting at the door waiting for me when I came home. We are very obsessive since then with special ferret gates and locked screen doors and their own gated room.
Sounds like you have quite an adventurous rascal Kathleen. Thats amazing she cam back to your own door …. usually they just keep going and going and going… discovering everything.
Just re-reading this story .. since on my ferrets recently managed to get outside of the house before being spotted by a neighbor.
I can’t imaging her getting 17 miles away from me…yikes.