Some Musings After a Long Silence

Last night I raced home from work and took my dogs out for a walk. Along with me I toted a canvas grocery bag with cat food, bio-degradable dog-doo bags, spoons, and all the litter I picked up on the way (side note here--I pick up so many liquor bottles on my daily walks that anyone going through my recycling would think I have a serious drinking problem).

As we walked last night Nikita suddenly froze and then darted to my side, Kyra followed. Both dogs were pointing at the forlorn body of a baby squirrel. He was on his back, his nose was bloody, presumably injured when he fell from a nest high in the trees. I froze for a moment, the little squirrel started moving. Then the feral cats seemed to get impatient for my arrival and ventured out to find us. So there I was with an injured baby squirrel and two dogs and two cats surrounding him. I dumped out the contents of my bag and grabbed the little squirrel, as he fought and cried out and put him in the bottom of my bag.

That's when I saw the two other baby squirrels, who couldn't so much walk as slowly crawl, trying to get away unnoticed. So I scooped them up too. One had a scratch on his side, and the other appeared to be uninjured, but with cats around I couldn't just leave them there.

Once back at the house (note: I did go back and retrieve all the contents of my bag--don't think I littered) I called trying to find some help for the squirrels. In the end our best solution was to take them to Washington Humane who would try to keep them warm and alive until the wildlife rehabber opened in the morning.

Here I am, hoping they're ok, but too afraid they aren't to pick up the phone and call, in case they aren't. I wish I could be better prepared for events like these, but I'm not qualified to treat injured baby squirrels.

And at the house I have five kittens with the momma cat, who need homes. All tame, sociable, loving and totally homeless and at the mercy of the world. Like we weren't crowded and overwhelmed enough. (incidentally, if you're interested in a kitten in the DC area or know anyone who is, please get in touch with me)

The animals who need help never stop coming I suppose. There's something about the way a lost and terrified baby animal looks at you--if you've done much rescue you'll know what I mean. There's that dopey out of it look, which would be shock, the last bit of fight in them that is going to warn you of a bite or a scratch at least if you reach for them, and then also something of an appeal, a hope that just maybe you'll help them instead of eating them. I don't know how to describe it really, it just totally breaks your heart, the will to live combined with total innocence and helplessness.

I really wonder how anyone could see that and ever do anything to harm an animal. I wonder how people could not be moved to change their lives. Isn't this something that grabs you by the heart and forces you to action?

But it doesn't, does it? A man walked by us as I tried to figure out how to keep the cats back and grab up the little squirrel. "The squirrel is hurt," I called out to him, "do you have anything I could cover him with? A paper towel? A kleenex? Anything?" He shot me a look of total disgust and walked on. I picked up the little squirrels with my hands. I thought of the time I've had to help birds and people have said "You touched the bird? Birds are so filthy?" Hands wash but consciences don't, I suppose.

Update: Ok, I worked up the courage to call the rehabber and check on the squirrels and all of them are going to make it. The one with the bloody nose is fine, but the one with the scratch on her side will need some extra recovery time. They said that the squirrels were all dehydrated and it's possible that something happened to the mother and they ventured out of the nest looking for food and fell. They are only four weeks old, the poor baby squirrels.