I never thought, in all of my life, that I would spend several hours one day saving the life of an infant squirrel. But that happened to me just yesterday, and I honestly didn't comprehend what was happening at first when Tiny notified me of something wrong in the backyard. I didn't know, I was inside the house at the time.
But as I stepped outside to investigate, Tiny's big brown eyes looked up at me with concern.
"What's wrong Tiny?" I asked, as she whimpered.
She sniffed the dirt below her, pointing it out with her snout.
A baby squirrel, laying on its side in the dirt. So young that its eyes were still slits and not yet opened, so small that its little chest heaved up and down in terror. I looked up at the trees above, imagining a horrendous fall from the giant oak canopy two stories above, and I started to think that this poor unfortunate baby squirrel only had seconds left.
After putting the dog inside, I examined the infant more closely. His face was in the dirt, his mouth was full of sand, and he was shaking. Using a plastic shopping bag, I gingerly picked him up and put him on the patio table.
And that's when I knew that we were this little infant's only hope to survive.
I confided in my closest friend, called my mother, and tried to determine what to do with the little fella. I was concerned that the fall from the tree may have injured him internally and that he may expire any time now. My call to the vet yielded a stern "we don't look at squirrels" and calling the Wildlife organization was useless as well. We were on our own to help this guy.
But what happened next is really the makings of miracles.
We took the little infant squirrel and placed him in a small box (a box that you generally get checks in - he was that small) and insulated it with little leaves. After giving him some shredded lettuce and sugar water, he started to come around.
And started to call for his mother, a tiny shrill scream, over and over.
He had difficulty navigating the raised sides of the box, and of course he couldn't see, but he managed to muster the energy, after some time had passed, was able to call for help.
And that's when my friend suggested to leave him be, and sent an excellent site on the care of infant squirrels: Squirrel Tales".
Getting dinner prepared, thoughts started to enter my head, since his situation seemed less dire. Would he imprint himself on us? Would we now have a wild squirrel as part of the family?
And for a while, we did.
We tried to determine what would be best for him, how he might survive the night, and we kept an anxious Tiny from going outside to relieve herself - at least for a little while - so the little guy could have a little peace and quiet to gather his senses and call for his mother.
And then, just as we were about to start eating dinner, it happened.
I looked outside, and saw the box. I saw the leaves, the lettuce we had shredded for him, and the tiny soda cap of sugar water was tipped over.
"Nim", our little pet that we had named for just a few hours, had been saved by his mother.
And that short time, that brief time of having an additional pet, has confirmed thoughts of why animals comes into our lives. Mehki came as a tiny, skinny and hungry black and white tuxedo kitten, meowing incessantly and latching onto us immediately. He grew into the healthy and lovable cat that he is today.
Song called to us for help about two years later. We were looking for a cat at the time, as a friend for Mehki, and we were at the Humane Society. That's the place were un-adopted cats and dogs are put down. Well, Song, whose original name was "Sun", looked right at us and winked. And we knew he was asking for us to pick him.
And we did.
And then of course there's Tiny, who bounced into our lives a year and a half ago as a little puppy, who has grown into a large, protective and loving dog who we wouldn't trade for the world.
And then there's Nim.
We only had him for a few hours.
But they were critical hours of his life; they were hours that would have decided whether he lived or died. And it was when looking back at the time, knowing that he was sent to us for a reason. He fell out of that tree at that precise moment and that precise time, right in our backyard, because we were there to help him to ensure that he could live.
And that's why he came into our lives.
He came into our lives so he could live, and we were meant to save his life. And, because we were called to rescue him, he now can live as he was meant to be.
And maybe one day, an adult squirrel will dash down from the giant oak trees above, run across the top of the fence, closer to the patio, and we will look up.
His head will cock to the side, his eyes wide, his arms holding a nut, and he will tilt his head, and skitter away.
