My neighbor told me that she had seen the little critter on her driveway when she and her kids were leaving earlier that day and she had scooped it up with a shovel and dumped it there, under the tree.
It was NOT okay with me to leave this sweet, young thing there to die a slow death, so we called someplace - I can't remember where - and found out that we needed to find some dog milk for feeding the little squirrel. All of my mothering instincts came out as I carried my new baby around in my shirt. He was the sweetest thing!
We kept the little guy in a tall laundry basket. His eyes weren't even open yet, but he could climb up the side of the basket until he got to a place that was smooth and he couldn't climb anymore. At that point, he would squeal loudly until I picked him up and put him back in his little nest.
Is he not THE cutest thing?As much as I truly loved the guy and would have enjoyed raising him, it wasn't going to work due to my lack of knowledge about such things, the fact that I have no set-up for it, and the craziness of the Buddha dog every time the baby squirrel squealed at the top of his basket (I also just read that it's against the law to hold wildlife for over 48 hours without a permit - didn't know that then!).
Within a few days, we found a wildlife rehabber and took the little baby to her. The last I heard about baby squirrel, he was learning to get food for himself so that he could be let back out into the wild.
I feel somewhat like a mother who put her kid up for adoption. I wonder: Is he still alive? Does he have kids? It's snowy and cold out; is he okay?
Wow, what a climber! So cute, I hope he made it just fine.
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Otowi.
ReplyDeleteHow are you?
He is a cute little guy! He's lucky to have been found by you.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, Carol! I had hoped to do the same with the baby bunny that Alex brought into the house.
ReplyDeleteThomas,
ReplyDeleteI was also lucky. I really enjoyed my time as a mother squirrel.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteI had a pet bunny once. They leave little, round, black presents EVERYWHERE. And they chew on wires and cords. They're very messy for such cute animals!
Aaaah how sweet!
ReplyDeleteYou gave him a chance Carol ... without you he wouldn't have had that.
Dancing,
ReplyDeleteYes, that's true. I couldn't resist such a sweet baby!
I'm so glad you did that. I can't leave animals either. Such a sweet little thing. Funny i never would have thought squirrel from that first picture. :-)
ReplyDeleteWayfarer,
ReplyDeleteYeah, he really doesn't look like any kind of animal that I'm familiar with.
You're a good example to your kids.