Little Squirrels

Yesterday after church, one of the teens discovered two little squirrels that weren't acting as little squirrels should. One looked glued to the side of a tree and wouldn't move no matter how close we got or what we did. The other was lying in the grass, a little distance from the tree. No mother squirrel was to be found. The one lying in the grass eventually made it to the tree, but could hardly climb it. We could tell it had been injured because the end of its tail was cut up.

We put them in a bucket with some grass and towels and brought them home. Jason transferred them to a larger plastic bin and we added a dish of water and some peanuts and Cheerios. I had put in a Fig Newton cookie earlier (b/c that was all I had at the time) and they actually ate some of it. We put them in the garage with a baby gate on top, to make sure nothing could get at them and they couldn't get out. When I checked them last night they were both curled up in little balls next to each other - so cute!

This morning one was pretty revived after getting some nourishment and sleep. The other though, is not doing well and looks decidedly worse than his/her sibling. Its breathing is very shallow and it can hardly keep its eyes open. Yesterday Jason called an animal hospital that animal control referred him to and they apparently left a message on his answering machine at church with some contact numbers for people who rehabilitate animals. He took them to church with him this morning and is hoping to find someone who will take them and hopefully nurse the one back to health.

I wanted to touch them so badly, but they are infested with huge fleas (we could see them jumping around on the towels - yuck!) and squirrels are also rabies carriers. The one squirrel was feeling pretty frisky this morning and actually hissed at me when I put new water in the container. That confirmed the thought that I probably shouldn't put my hand in there!

I know they are just little creatures (varmints to some!), but since God knows when a sparrow falls, I know He cares about these creations of His as well!