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FEATURE - Lauren Smith geht mit ihrem Frettchen gern auf Tour
SONDERKONDITIONEN: Satzpreis! Lauren and Jesse James on the trails in 2020 (PA REAL LIFE/Collect) *** VIDEO: Meet Jesse James - the adventurous hiking FERRET who loves climbing mountains
By James Butler, PA Real Life
A woman who loves hiking with her ferret has told how they climb mountain peaks, explore deep canyons and have even gone cross-country skiing together.
Lauren Smith, 28, from Colorado, US, lives with her adventurous pet Jesse James in a 30ft motorhome - and to date has never found anyone else anywhere with a hiking ferret.
She said: "I've come across other people walking their ferrets, but in all my time doing this, I've never found anyone else who takes their ferret on hikes up actual mountains.
"I'd love to hear from anyone who does though."
The healthcare student normally takes Jesse James out hiking at least once a week, keeping him safe with a little harness and a long, red lead - and since he loves water, she is even looking forward to taking him alpine kayaking this summer.
She said: "He will mainly just sit in the kayak with me and might go for a swim if he's interested in it.
"I've even made my own custom life-jacket for ferrets so there's no risk of him getting in trouble."
Lauren documents their escapades on her Instagram account @hikingferret and she and the very talented Jesse James are now unlikely influencers, with more than 10,000 followers.
But Jesse James is not Lauren's first ferret hiking companion.
She got her first, Oliver, in 2015, while she was living in Lubbock, Texas and was studying to become a paramedic, discovering completely by accident that he loved going for long walks with her.
Sadly, her much-loved Oliver died last year from adrenal gland disease - but he changed Lauren's life after she bought him as a 'complete impulse buy'.
She remembered: "I was working 12-hour shifts in the ambulance, and I read that ferrets slept 18 to 20 hours a day, so I thought they'd be perfect for me.
(c) Dukas