Apr 13, 2010

Hendrix Lives

On our evening walk with the dogs on Monday, we saw a lump in the middle of the road at the end of a cul-de-sac. I thought it was roadkill. I held the dogs while the bf went to check it out. To our surprise, as he got close, the tiny lifeless lump lifted it's head and squawked like a bird. It was crying out for help...

So he (the bf, not the injured squirrel) ran back home to grab a cardboard box and gloves while I tied the dogs to a fire hydrant and stood over the creature (he was in the middle of the road remember).

When we got the furry critter home we discovered a gash under its arm, and we warmed up a heating pad wrapped in a soft t-shirt and put it in with the little guy in the box. Meanwhile, we were calling the animal shelter who referred us to a volunteer wildlife rescue organization and we immediately headed out there.

Here is Hendrix (that's what we named him):



When we arrived, the wildlife rehabilitation volunteer immediately put him in quarantine and in a warm area. She soon delivered some pain medication for the deep wound and fed him some formula. She informed us that he is a 5 week old baby fox squirrel with a deep laceration under his arm (to the bone deep, ouch!). He must have fallen out of his tree nest or was snatched and dropped by a crow.

He's not able to regulate his body temperature yet so relies on his mother to keep him warm. If a baby squirrel is injured or cold, the mother may abandon it. So we like to believe that we saved his life. He would have died of hypothermia, been hit by a car, or eaten by a predator.

We were updated that her* laceration has been mended by a vet, and she is now in long term rehabilitation care with a squirrel specialist. Who then updated us that he's** extremely frightened but is in good care and even has been given a 'brother' squirrel to help with his recovery.

We hope that he can be released on our property when he is fully recovered!

*this made us laugh that Hendrix was a 'she'
**this made us confused. But we believe the squirrel specialist that Hendrix is a 'he'

1 comment:

  1. Update: some homeopathic remedies have calmed Hendrix down so he is less fearful. He's gone from 116 grams to 140 grams! And even has been snuggling with his given 'brother'!

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