If I didn't look down...

Just when I thought my maternal instincts were not existent...

As I was out walking Bleaker this morning, I saw something moving in the grass. My first thought was a rat, gross! But I walked closer and saw it, a baby squirrel. I stared at it for a while, thinking about what I should do. I kept walking Bleaker, the whole time keeping an eye on the little one, so small it doesn't stand yetor have its eyes open! I noticed two women walking from the building across the parking lot, talking and laughing never looking down, they came very close to the baby and never noticed! I looked around for a momma squirrel, hoping she would see her young was gone and come to save it. Nothing. I looked up and saw the nest, it was large, but lonely. No sounds of any other family. The baby had taken quite the fall, 25 feet at least. 

I took Bleaker back inside the apartment, and searched the closet for a box with the least amount of junk in it. I dumped out the miscellanious trinkets and string, and grabbed a towel. Outside I stooped down beside it, waiting again for momma squirrel to come and protect her young. Nothing. I could hear the mowers coming to mow around our building, they would never see it or know what had happened. I couldn't let that happen to it. I wrapped the lime green towel around the squirming baby and it immediately calmed. In the apartment I placed it in the box and in the bedroom closet, away from Bagheera (our hungry-looking cat).

I googled "found a baby squirrel" and wow! It was unbelievable the amount of information the internet has about it. What to feed it and when, how to keep them warm, how to tell the sex and type, everything. I discovered that it is a tree squirrel, approximately four weeks old, and after reading many articles I found my heating pad and placed it under the cardboard box, half covered the top of the box with another towel to keep in the warmth, and stuffed three old t-shirts inside. I also found a recipe to keep the it hydrated. Salt, sugar, and warm water from an eye dropper, only about 1tsp every 2 hours. The baby took a little water from me, and went right to sleep. 

Unfortunately I remembered that I did have to go to work today, so I left some info on a note pad for Mike and left. I told my co-workers about the happening, I got mixed reviews. Half of them saying "Ick! Why did you touch it?!" and others saying "Aww, that's so sweet."

Whatever, I felt like I saw the baby for a reason. It doesn't matter what comes of it, whether we nurse it until we believe it can survive on its own, or we keep it as a pet. This little sweet animal came into ours lives today, and I'm so happy it did. 

Also, I say "it" because I thought it was too young to tell the sex, Mike seems to think it is a boy. Time will tell. Welcome to our home, baby squirrel!