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.
Thanks for a warm and fuzzy ping...
I saw them on ABQ news at 6:00 tonight. They are so cute. He was a very active little squirrel, running up and down things. Thanks for sharing the pictures. :o)
The parasites and insects that live on them carry diseases, though.
I wouldn't be surprised if it tried to make a sound like a bark if possible. Amazing how many animals that will nurse and raise another kind of animal!
Precious photos! Thanks for the ping!
...oh, my!! That pic of all the puppies and the squirrel has to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen!!!!
LOL!!! That's hilarious! Life can be cruel, especially when you get eaten by a killer whale. :o)
:)...hmm, why do I smell an argument for "diversity," here? Nahhh...
The Pretty Boys...
Having a little firewood snack...
ha-ha!
I just hate for squirrels to get a bad rap.
Sweet story.
It'll be bad news when the squirrel reaches maturity and thinks dogs are suitable mates.
Your dog was fortunate to find kittens.
She may have had to mother rocks instead.
Squirrels do make some kind of squawking sound.
I hear them barking the alert when I let my Black Lab out in the morning.
Beautiful animals.
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