T and the Squirrel (Week 7)

If you are on Facebook, you probably read about T's adventure with the squirrel.  She is our wild animal lover girl and you never know what she will try. 

Brandon put the picture of T holding the squirrel on Facebook.

T:  Isn't Teeny Tiny awesome? 

He asked, "So how would you respond if you walk around the corner of your house and find your daughter holding a wild squirrel?"

Many people commented on the picture, but he wasn't able to tell the story until T was sleeping.  As I mentioned in a previous post, we had grilling, a campfire, and a game of Sorry after the squirrel incident. 

This is what Brandon shared on Facebook later that night: 

"Here’s the story. T named the squirrel Teeny Tiny. She was carrying sticks to the wood pile on the side of the house and the squirrel appeared in the wood pile. She thought it looked cute, so she wooed it with a nut she found and with slow, friendly gestures. She said she then picked it up, cradled it like a baby, and rocked it back and forth. (I’m not making this up, and I don’t think she is, either!) When I came around the house to check on her, the first thing I saw was the bushy tail; I figured she’d found a squirrel tail and was playing with it. (When I was about her age, I found a detached squirrel tail and was very proud of it until my mom got upset that I was washing it in the kitchen sink.) Instead, I quickly discovered she had a live juvenile squirrel. I was shocked. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was attacking her or if she wanted it on her. Her motives became clear when she became very defensive because she didn’t want to let it go. I decided to take a quick photo for documentation and then grabbed it (against her will) and tossed it on the ground. She was crying about how it was her only friend. I had a hard time getting her inside, because she refused to leave the squirrel. She was angry at me. Thankfully, it didn’t bite her. All we were hearing for the next 15 minutes was about Teeny Tiny. 

Then, as I was getting ready to grill, I convinced her to ride her scooter on the patio as a way to calm down. But I had to keep reprimanding her for looking for Teeny Tiny. Then, I came out of the house with the meat, and she’s yelling about finding Teeny Tiny, and it’s right next to her! Apparently it went to find her. For the rest of the evening (including having a fire in the fire pit on the patio), this squirrel was making appearances. It was following us around at times, and we were very concerned about it getting in the house. Eventually, we went inside.

The fact that it seemed so tame and followed us around is concerning. However, it wasn’t aggressive and didn’t look sick. I’m hoping its weird behavior was due to being young and perhaps because it was drawn to Tehila’s gentleness. It almost seems too strange to be true, but this is what happened!"

The whole story caused more replies and questions.  Here are some additional quotes from Brandon.  

(He was asked about acting fast and what he was thinking when he saw the squirrel.) "This is one of those parenting things you never imagine doing, but in the moment, you just do what you have to do. That was the first time I’ve ever grabbed a squirrel!  I was more upset with T than freaked out about touching the squirrel. Plus, the whole scene had a feel of “Is this really happening?!” So there was some adrenaline. I’m not someone who enjoys touching strange creatures, but I just knew it had to be done. I could tell my presence was making both the squirrel and T agitated, so I had to act quickly. It was crawling up to T’s shoulder, so I just grabbed, pulled, and tossed it down. I didn’t know how hard it would pull on T’s shirt, but I pulled hard enough to get it loose, no matter what. We did have a few lines of back-and-forth conversation before I grabbed it, though. It was an intense and unique scenario - I’m sure it would have been entertaining for an onlooker!"

(There were more comments later that night and Brandon and I were enjoying reading them and laughing about the whole ordeal.  Someone asked if they should be concerned about squirrels crawling on their children.) "T was the one who initiated this whole thing. Shelly and I are sitting here laughing at the craziness of this experience and T’s lack of impulse control and common sense. I think it’s just a T Problem.  Shelly just said this photo is evidence that T should be the last person out of isolation during COVID19 stuff; if she can’t stay away from squirrels, how is she going to give distance to people?!  She continued to be insistent that this squirrel was her one true friend to whom she could tell anything and who would always be loyal."  

T: Teeny Tiny came right up to me and I moved away. 

T: See how cute she is!!

T:  She just wanted to come inside at get cozy.  

Now for some of my thoughts...

I was prepping dinner when I heard some yelling and T stomping inside.  She took off her helmet and threw it against the wall.  Then she kicked off her shoes and stomped off.  Brandon came in and wanted to show me a picture.  I knew she was moving sticks from a pile to the backyard so I was imaging he was going to show me a picture of her dragging a stick pile and making a huge mess.  I had NO IDEA the pic would be of her holding a squirrel.  I screamed and shuttered and yelled to her demanding that she wash her hands and take off her shirt.  After she washed I grabbed a Clorox wipe and rubbed it all over her and made her hold it to make sure her hands were clean.  I have never done that before, but I just was so grossed out and it seemed logical to wipe her down.  She was so upset about losing her only loyal friend.  I went back and forth in my mind wanting to comfort her and wanting to freak out about what she did.  She said over and over that she was sure Teeny Tiny was a safe squirrel and that it didn't have rabies.  Actually she screamed this... spelling rabies aloud,  "IT DOESN'T HAVE R-A-B-E-S!" (yes, she skipped the "I") 

 I was working on veggies and onions inside and looked out the window. I saw her on the scooter with the squirrel right next to her.  I screamed BRANDON so loud I am sure some of you reading this heard me.  I think we both noticed at the same time.  The squirrel was truly following her around.  

The temperature dropped and the winds picked up.  It wasn't very lovely campfire weather, but we promised T so it was happening for sure. While we were prepping the fire Teeny Tiny was hanging out on the patio.  He was sitting right by the backdoor, so we were using the sliding door to get in and out.  T was trying to convince us to let him inside or to let her bring a blanket out for him.  It was quite frustrating.  

During the campfire the squirrel continued to come closer and closer.  At several points we were all standing and running away from the squirrel.  I am sure this was hilarious to watch because we were confined to the patio due to freshly planted grass seed.   I was texting some friends who were contemplating driving past to watch and laugh! Thankfully we made it safely in the house and the squirrel remained outside.  

After the kids went to bed I did lots of searching on the CDC website about squirrels and rabies. I emailed our local public health place and felt fairly sure all would be OK.  The squirrel did leave little scratches on T's arm, but they quickly went away and didn't break the skin.  

I called her Dr's office on Monday morning.  I told the story to the receptionist and she left a message for the nurse.  The nursed called me for more details and then talked to the Dr.  She called back and said she should be fine.  The health department agreed that we shouldn't be concerned. 

Thankfully we have not seen the squirrel since last Sunday.  We spent a lot less time outside last week.  I was very strategic on not letting the kid play on the patio.  I am hoping Tenny Tiny decided to relocate.