Posted on 10/12/2005 4:38:47 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
SEATTLE - This is a story about a mother, a baby in dire need and how the two came together.
It didn't matter that they didn't come from the same place, or look at all alike -- they weren't even the same species! But instinct took over when the need was greatest.
Debby Cantlon of Seattle explains: "He doesn't know he's a squirrel; he thinks he's a dog."
She's talking about Finegan, the squirrel. He could be excused for thinking he's a dog, that's how he's being raised.
Rescued at just a few days old, Finegan had fallen from a tree, his mother beside him, dead.
"I didn't think that he was going to make it, he was so dehydrated," says Cantlon.
A friend brought Finegan to Cantlon. She has a knack saving injured birds, squirrels, and raccoons. But Finegan's eyes weren't even open yet -- it was touch and go.
Then Debby's dog Mademoiselle Giselle stepped in.
"Apparently she thought it was a puppy of hers and she was gonna have him, no matter what."
Debby continued to bottle feed the squirrel, but Giselle pulled the extra shifts. Finegan began nursing right alongside the five puppies -- just another littermate burrowing for position.
Now, at six weeks old, while the puppies are still barely walking, Finegan is a rambunctious juvenile. He's strong, can climb just about anything and is into everything.
Finegan was fascinated by KOMO 4 News photographer Randy Carnell and his camera -- he wouldn't stop crawling all over it, nibbling everything, including Randy.
All this is a sign, says Debby, that Finegan is close to being ready to go back into the wild. Once he can crack open and eat nuts and seeds, it will be time.
"My biggest reward is to watch them go free," says Cantlon. "It just makes my heart soar."
But, before then, there will still be a few last bottles and a lot of snuggling with his littermates. While they take a midday nap, Cantlon whispers in the background, "That's what I get out of this. What a gift, what a gift.
That story began with a compelling account of the unconditional love of a cat that raised an orphaned squirrelas its very own, and griped our hearts with the saga of of the young life of a squirrel flourishingly under the loving nurture of a cat and its devoted owners. Like all great tragedies, the story ended with heartbreak as a German reporter accidentally stepped on the squirrel, killing it - leading to the devastation of the little girl who loved them all. It was a modern day squirrel tragedy of epic proportions. I gave it two thumbs up.
Ostensibly, the present offering is a squirrel comedy in the classic tradition. While a commendable effort to contribute to the important genre of moose and squirrel (Bullwinkle) begun by Jay Ward in 1959, it falls short in its efforts to reach the audience with a compelling connection to the human heart. I give it one thumb down.
Like everyone else, I look forward to the next installment in the literary/cinemographic series of the trials and tribulations of squirrels.
No but he lifts his right hind leg when he pees.
The folks at my local PetSupermarket were nursing a baby squirrel the other day. One of the clerks, a teenage girl, was walking around with it clinging to her shoulder. I couldn't bring myself to pet it, though, they're such pest-ridden little things. The little baby was CUTE though, and seemed sweet enough.
I hear that even hand-raised squirrels turn mean though once they grow up.
It was odd, the squirrel I had I kept for five months before I released him. He would nip on my finger nail, but he never bit me. It was a fun experience, aside from being threatened by wildlife officials when I called for feeding advice for the squirrel.
What diseases?
I nailed one a year back only to see its furry little tail twitching away in my rear view mirror. My wife yells at me for hitting the brakes when a squirrel runs in front of my car. I'm getting her a bumper sticker that says, "I Speed Up For Small Animals".
I honestly believe that dogs are God's gift to man. The phrase "man's best friend" is so true. You can pretty well judge a man's character by how he treats his dog.
Papillon I'm guessing? Or some sort like it. Cute.
My past German Shepherd - NEVER bred, altho she was never spayed, either (until old) - adopted the tiny 3-week old kitten we rescued from the nutty, bratty kids next to my aunt's farm (turns out they had stolen her from a neighbor's litter) when she was about 7. She'd never regularly lived w/any other animal to that point (my cats were basically outdoor cats only occasionally inside, and whom she liked to torture). Immediately after my mom & aunt "stole" the kitten Shana took her in and "suckled" her and all.
Unfortunately, I'll never know if those boys ruined her or if she was just plain genetically mean - the cat, despite all her good treatment by human and canine, was evil even from "day 1" (horrible growling snarls even as a baby sucking her bottle). Eventually we had to get rid of her, before she was 2. Shana wasn't enough to influence her w/her gentle motherly ways.
Too bad! This summer a sharp-shin was lurking in the tree just above my bird feeders - darn, I thought, there goes some finches. But suddenly from the barn came a swarm of barn swallows and they harassed the sharp-shin till he left. I have never seen anything like it, and didn't know that barn swallows would do such a thing. This was, however, during their nesting time, so maybe they were a little short-tempered.
Thanks for the heads-up.
"What diseases?"
Rabies, for one. I heard that can be a big problem, not only with squirrels, but with any of these feral animals.
You are right! I've got a neighbor who had a very young deer enter his small pasture where he has cattle and goats. A "Do-Gooder" notified the Game Commission who sent someone out to investigate. My neighbor pointed out that, while the deer had stayed in his pasture for more than a year, the deer could always jump over his fence to get out just as easily as he had jumped in! The deer stayed until his first rut and left his secure feedlot for female company!!!
You are right! I've got a neighbor who had a very young deer enter his small pasture where he has cattle and goats. A "Do-Gooder" notified the Game Commission who sent someone out to investigate. My neighbor pointed out that, while the deer had stayed in his pasture for more than a year, the deer could always jump over his fence to get out just as easily as he had jumped in! The deer stayed until his first rut and left his secure feedlot for female company!!!
Reminds me of a cartoon I saw once where a rat was gluing fur to his tail. Another rat asked him what he was doing and the first rat replied that he was "social climbing"!
Okay, folks. Have at it. Tiny instruments, "he has no home, he's a squirrel," "careful, hawks and squirrels don't get along."
Thanks for the adorable ping!
yea, I won't tell you what my male dog did to a rabbit.
Good lessons for all your kids, and safe driving on your part. When I was in high school, two sisters were on their way to school in the am. They broke the crest of a hill and saw a cat in the road.
They swerved to miss it and flipped their escort. They had multiple injuries and totalled their car. When they were still on the scene no one could figure out why the cat was still in the road. Well, the cat was already dead. They risked their lives to avoid roadkill!
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