Our pet hamster Cookie escaped out of her cage yesterday and is now missing in action. We hope she'll either find her way back to the room, or be rescued somehow. Two parents have told me tales of hamsters returning after several days, so keep a good thought for our fluffy friend.
On a related note, last month I saw this bird at our backyard bird feeder.
It was a blue budgie that had escaped from someone's home. I couldn't bear the thought of it dying in the cold, Toronto winter. So I hatched a plan (no pun intended) and with a lot of patience, I captured the bird.
I hung the bird feeder in a scrunchy bag and then hung the scrunchy bag from the hanger. Eventually, the bird went in for food. Stealthily, I snuck up and covered the bag with mesh. 
My neighbour helped me get the budgie into an empty cage and I made a perch with a paintbrush. I was so happy that I was able to help a critter out. When I told my husband that I could get a job with animal services, he said something like, "Oh yeah. I really see you climbing on roofs to get raccoons out of chimneys." Point taken. I blogged about the experience, and a woman in Brampton asked if she could take it. She'd already rescued another budgie from a tree across the street. We drove out to Brampton to make the special delivery and here's the bird, they named Labatt Blue. Don't you love a happy ending?
Erin Hawkins
Labatt Blue tweeting in Brampton
