Should I Release a Wild Mouse?

Question
On Labor Day my granddaughter brought home a wild baby mouse; it had hair; eyes open but very small and cold.  I thought it was dead. The neighors' dog was after it.  So I warmed it and it moved. Ended up feeding it infant soy formula via a pipette; then weaned it to mouse food.  It is now about 7 weeks old by my guess.  I'm in a quandry as to what the "right thing to do is". It was old enough to have open eyes and complete fur; so it must have learned something from its mother; but I can't teach it to find food.  Lately she has been trying to get out of the cage and jumped out of my hand; and ran; took a bit to catch her. I think she wants "out".  I was considering building her a "release box"; with plenty of food and bedding in it and putting it under a wood pile near a small pond in the woods behind our house. Is that the right thing to do or should I simply keep her; forcing her to live as a caged animal?  She'd have a cushy, but lonely, life and it would be against all her instincts.  What is the right thing to do here????

Answer
Dear Breezy,

You are right that your little mouse won't be happy in captivity for long.  I think the release box is a very good idea, considering she has trouble finding food on her own.  She won't have as long a life in the wild as in captivity, but she will be much happier.  Many hand fed mice like to stay pets, but it sounds like this girl has other ideas.  In my book, quality of life is more important than quantity of days.