People-Person Pet Mouse was Lost at Renaissance Fair But Showed Up for the After-Party

July 14, 2024 journo

Cotton Ball after she was found outdoors after a 10 hour adventure and late night party – Sam Stewart

I have a pet mouse that I hand raised since she was 10 days old. She was originally supposed to be snake food, but the snake wouldn’t eat her so I decided to raise her instead.

I never believed she would actually pull through— she was so small. But she did survive, and became the best mouse ever.

She is about 7-months-old now and completely imprinted on me. Her name is Cotton Ball and she loves people, being held, and going on adventures.

I take her out to play on my bed every night, and she never leaves. Sometimes she gets lost in my laundry, but she always comes back, no matter what.

This past Sunday I took her with me to a Renaissance fair, and while I was walking she completely disappeared. She has jumped off or tried to leave me before, and I was absolutely heartbroken. I frantically searched for her to no avail.

She was outdoors, in a busy multi-acre fairground surrounded by grassland – not to mention hawks and snakes everywhere. It was 100 degrees outside, and I was sure she was going to die. She’s albino, so she would stick out like a sore thumb to predators and has no idea how to survive in the wild.

I told a few workers that I had lost her and gave them my information on the 0.001% chance that someone might find her. They posted about her on their Facebook group, but the chances were close to zero that she could actually be found. I went home completely distraught, knowing I had just killed this mouse by bringing her to the fair.

I know it’s just a mouse, but this one was special. I’ve never met a mouse who isn’t afraid of anything and absolutely loves people – she was really the most special mouse in the world.

The next day I got a text from a friend who worked at the fair—they actually found my mouse.

I was told that she was found at 1am at a castle party that the workers were having to celebrate the last day of the fair. Apparently she was getting a lot of love from the workers who found her and she had a great time at the party!

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I drove an hour and a half to get her from the woman who took her home. I was sure I was never going to see this mouse again, and yet here she was. A little dirty, but otherwise completely unharmed – not even a scratch.

The woman who I picked her up from told me she had spotted Cotton Ball about an hour before she was found at the castle, and she saw her being chased under one of the sheds by a king snake. She felt bad, assuming Cotton Ball had become a snack. But, the lucky mouse emerged unscathed—ready for a party.

I can’t imagine any mouse choosing to go to an indoor party with tons of people—instead of hiding in the grasslands, but this mouse has always been different. She’s a people-person, so it wasn’t a surprise that she’d found some strangers to befriend.

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I still can’t believe I have her back. So many people came together to help me find my beloved friend, from the woman that took her home to the people who found her at the party to my friend who worked there putting me in contact with them. It makes me believe that good people truly exist, and miracles can happen.

Cotton Ball is safe and sound, running on her wheel like nothing ever happened. And I’m still trying to wrap my head around just how incredible she is—and how she proves there is always reason to have hope.

(Written and submitted by Sam Stewart)