A popular albino ferret who was stolen from his hutch has been reunited with his owner after she made a desperate plea on Facebook to find him.
One-year-old Bruce was swiped from owner Chloe Pickwell’s back garden in Nottingham, leaving her heartbroken.
He was eventually found after Chloe, 21, took to social media to appeal to locals to help find her beloved pet.
Many came forward saying they had seen the adorable animal around the town.
Sales Assistant Chloe knew someone had taken Bruce as he can’t normally get out of the hutch.
But she trusted that someone would spot him, given how popular he was in the community.
And thankfully someone did. A neighbour had spotted the pet in his garden and alerted Chloe.
Chloe reckons that the thief saw her viral Facebook post and let Bruce go.
For now she’s just happy to be reunited with her cherished pet.
She said: ‘He is usually asleep in the morning, but I noticed he hadn’t taken a drink or anything on Tuesday.
‘I was really concerned so I went out to check on him and it was empty. The hutch was completely empty but all the doors were shut.
‘Bruce is really well known to the Mansfield community. He is popular around here.
‘Even if he did escape someone would have found him.’
Chloe’s Facebook post, which was shared 1.3k times, saw a woman, Laura Fox, comment that she had tried to grab Bruce as he was in her back garden.
‘This lady messaged me saying “I think I’ve seen your ferret”,’ Chloe explained.
‘Whoever’s taken him I think got really scared as within three hours, I was having over 1000 shares on Facebook.
‘I rang the police and whoever had him must have thought “Oh my god, I don’t know what to do“.
‘I think he was dumped that night as he was seen all morning everywhere.’
When Chloe went to Laura’s house, Bruce had already left. Chloe says it’s because the weather was so hot and Bruce prefers cooler temperatures.
Luckily, just ten minutes later, another person in the neighbourhood messaged to say they spotted Bruce.
‘We found Bruce near this man’s house and I just couldn’t believe it. I was crying, just totally sobbing.
‘The people who found him, they were sobbing as well because they’d seen him all over.
‘Everybody knew I was walking around and they were saying to me, “You’re the person that’s looking for the ferret” so everybody knew and was helping to look.’
Bruce is now safe and well, settling back in at home after his ordeal.
Chloe, however, is adamant that he was taken by someone.
She added: ‘From where we live, he could not have got eight feet from my house to his first sighting 24 hours later without someone seeing him.
‘He couldn’t have gotten there without even being hit by a car and killed. Someone would have grabbed him.
‘People who know ferrets, you don’t put your hand in a ferret hutch. They would usually take your hand off. This is what makes me think it is somebody who knows Bruce, somebody he sees on a daily basis.
‘A lot of people were saying why would somebody steal a ferret because they’re nasty and I thought, exactly, he isn’t. He’s literally one in a million. Everybody loves him.
‘It’s not the most common animal to have but they are very misunderstood.’
Chloe is glad that her neighbourhood were equally invested as her to find Bruce.
‘I think it was amazing how the community rallied to track down Bruce.
‘Everybody came together for the love of my animal, so I just couldn’t believe it.’
It really takes a village.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/31/owner-stolen-albino-ferret-finally-reunited-desperate-facebook-pleas-12782535/
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