it's tough to be a squirrel momma!

**sigh** so yesterday afternoon (evening really) me and kensie were outside working on a project for her school and we kept hearing this tiny little squawking sound. kensie kept asking me what it was and i just shrugged my shoulders and said that it was probably baby birds waiting for their momma to come back to the nest or something. well, about that time she saw something on the ground out of the corner of her eye. she turned around and started walking towards it and realized that it was a baby squirrel!!! she picked him up because he was crying and scared and his nose was bloody. we have an owl in our neighborhood so i think it probably tried to raid the nest for a nice little snack and maybe the momma and daddy squirrel got there just in time to scare it away and it dropped it's prey on the ground. (there was an awful chattering going on up in the tree for the longest time!)

we picked it up and wrapped it in a towel and took it to the nearest pet store. they didn't want to help because it's a wild animal and they aren't allowed to offer advice or anything about wild animals and also because they were closing in 15 minutes (mostly i think because they were closing!) anywho, they gave me the number for the alabama wildlife refuge which just so happens to be located in decatur which is where we're from. i called that number and nobody answered so they gave me the number for the 24 hour emergency vet and when i called THAT number... nobody answered!

so i called my mom and explained everything to her and asked her to look up some stuff about squirrels on the internet so we could help this poor wittle feller get through the night until this morning when we could contact the wildlife refuge again. so basically, i had to stay up all night long and feed this little bugger about 1cc of pedialyte every 45 minutes and had to keep him wrapped up in an old sheet and held up close to me so he could stay warm (a squirrel's body temp is 99 which is close to a humans.)

needless to say, i'm POOPED! my eyes hurt and i have a FORREALS migraine coming on (no foolin' guys, sleep deprivation does this to me, i shoulda known better!) but it was worth it. this morning this little bugger is still alive and well. so i brought him to work with me in a fanny pack with the sheet stuffed in it to keep him cozy and warm and so that i can give him his pedialyte as needed to keep him hydrated. first thing when i got to work i called the wildlife refuge and they gave me a number for a local rehabber but when i called that number it forwarded me to someone's core wireless cell phone number. i left a message but they haven't called back yet so idk...

anywho, here's some pics to keep y'all entertained ;~P (oh and idk what i weigh today. i was too busy with "nutten honey", or "nutty" for short, that i didn't get around to weighing this morning.)