A Norwich shop owner was left 'shocked' when a ferret appeared at the door of his shop to the east of the city but was even more alarmed when a microchip revealed his owners lived over two miles away.

Eastern Daily Press: A ferret travelled two miles across Norwich Picture: Aaron ElveryA ferret travelled two miles across Norwich Picture: Aaron Elvery (Image: Archant)

Aaron Elvery, store manager at Digital Phone Company Ltd on Plumstead Road, couldn't believe it when a ferret appeared at his store on Wednesday October 10 just as he was preparing to close for the day.

He managed to tempt it inside with a box of treats and took him home to protect him from the Norwich rush hour traffic.

Mr Elvery said: 'He was a really well behaved little guy and enjoyed his stay with us for the night but I don't think I will get my own ferret.'

Not knowing exactly where to post about forgotten ferrets he wrote on the 'Lost and Found Cats in Norwich' Facebook Page.

FERRET FOUND TODAY 10/11/2016

PLUMSTEAD ROAD EAST - NEAR ALDI

The little fella plodded into my shop at around 5 o'clock today and decided to hide in my stock room out of reach. I managed to tempt him with a treat into a box and I have taken him home with me as I didn't want to get squashed on the road outside.

He is a really friendly little animal and looks like it's quite young so I am assuming that he is a pet and not wild.

Please share this and hopefully we can get this little one back to its family.

The next morning he took the ferret to Thorpe Vets where head nurse Linzi Cheung used its microchip to reveal the owner details.

But they were both surprised to find that he lived over two miles away on the other side of the city on Unthank Road.

Mr Elvery said: 'I was shocked this little ferret travelled all that way and didn't have a mark on him! When he first ran through my door I thought he may have been a local pet but I was expecting him to be much closer to home.'

He then posted an update on Facebook.

FERRET UPDATE:

This morning the little ferret has been taken to Thorpe Vets to see my friend and head nurse Linzi and we found some interesting information!

The Good News:

The little ferret had a chip and that means we have all the owners details including a telephone number and address but that's not the most surprising outcome of the day!

The Amazing News:

After pulling up the owners details we found out where the little ferret lived. He lived over 2 miles away and travelled from the other side of the city to visit my shop! He didn't get his mobile phone upgrade BUT we have managed to contact the owner and he will be collected from the Vets today.

I have added some pictures of the little guy & map to show his perilous journey!

Thanks to Linzi Cheung @ Thorpe vets for inviting me in to help the little guy, everyone on Facebook who has spread the word and to Matthew from Spixworth village for lending me something that he can't chew through to stay in for the night.

The vets managed to contact the worried owners who were happily reunited with their missing pet.