Posted on 04/24/2013 12:26:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
While most squirrels spend their days climbing trees or roaming around in search of a nutty treat, Winkelhimer Smith likes to concentrate on more cultured activities.
The Louisiana-based squirrel has a passion for painting, with her artwork earning plaudits from admirers around the globe.
Her life wasn’t always so rosy however; back in 2011 she became disabled after a vicious stray cat attempted to eat her.
Thankfully, she was saved by the animal-loving Shyla Mouton, who adopted Winkelhimer and nursed her back to health.
Depression may have returned when the name Winkelhimer was bestowed upon her, but the squirrel has since overcome her disability and learnt to express herself through painting.
Grabbing (or nibbling) the paintbrush in her mouth, Winkelhimer spends hours every week creating the artwork which is sold on eBay for charity.
‘She mainly likes slinging the brush around,’ explained her owner. ‘Her favourite colour is yellow so she likes to use it a lot.
Pen pusher (Picture: Facebook / Winkelhimer) ‘When we got her I made my work room her home and I just squirrel-proofed everything.
‘They’re really smart about mimicking things you do, so she would watch me paint and she started to come and mess with the brushes.
‘She decided it was lots of fun and that’s how the squirrel painting started.’
Internet stardom has since followed for the animal entrepreneur who now has her very own Facebook, YouTube and Twitter account.
She was a real doll. If MA laws weren’t so strict I might have tried to keep her as a pet. Since they are so serious about enforcing the restrictions, & since I didn’t want her to be hit by a car, I took her to a big land preservations site, full of oak trees & a small lake.
When I first set her on a big tree, she kept running up & down the trunk, chattering at me & trying to get me to climb it w her. When she finally realized I wasn’t leaving the grownd, she raced forty or fifty feet up & stayed there. I think she was ready to be a feral squirrel at that point.
That is a sad story. But at least she didn’t die of starvation as a little baby on her own. She had some fun times w you instead. For that you can be glad.
So funny! I can picture her now! It’s too bad they bite, they are awfully cute. We have a big oak and the squirrels are everywhere. My Dad has gone to war with them over the birdfeeder many times. He doesn’t hurt them, he just patrols the feeder and ‘his’ birds.
Your dad sounds like a cool person. He might enjoy this video. It’s under 2 minutes, & it’s really hard not to laugh at the squirrel’s efforts [plus, enough seed ends up on the ground, the tree rodent had plenty to eat afterward]:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A-7g-fl3g8
Any other dog might have killed her immediately. She had a good life, short but good.
Yes, he is. Thanks for the video! He also plays tag with baby rabbits. I’m not kidding....He’s outside a lot during the day and the animals get used to his presence. The baby bunnies use shrubs just outside the patio to jump into/out of if they get spooked. Anyway, baby rabbits often “take off” suddenly and run in circles, then stop. Since they seem to trust him, he’ll “jump” at them and stop. They take off, run in a circle, and come right back. It’s funny!
Any cat that isn’t vegan, just has no compassion...
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