OMG: kill me with cuteness!

MEET BUDDY!

This is buddy, a baby squirrel that I found by the side of the road in suburban Washington DC. It appears that Buddy fell from his nest, and was stumbling around the middle of the street, where a wily chocolate lab picked him up, only further adding to his rough day.

Knowing that mothers often abandon their young if they've been touched by other animals, I didn't know what to do – wanting to get him out of the road, but not wanting to further reduce his chances of reuniting with his mother. Realizing that this dog would continue to traumatize him, or he'd get hit by a car, I bit the bullet and placed him in the grass next to the nearest tree, hypothesizing that perhaps his mother would be watching from above to swoop down and rescue him.

I walked away in hope that his mother would return, observing from afar. Instead of his mother appearing, a landscaping crew with huge lawnmowers began to mow the area leading up to where I placed him. CAN THIS GUY CATCH A BREAK??? Jeez! So, I swooped him up again, so that this nearsighted, wobbly baby wouldn't get shredded out of negligence by these landscapers.

Luckily, one of my closest friends is a research librarian, so I coddled little "Buddy," and asked her to help me find some wildlife rescue leagues to offer more advice about the best solution for Buddy's immediate care. Sadly, it was a Saturday afternoon, and most of the places I called were closed for the weekend. (Are you kidding me? Who has the luxury of only finding wild animals during banker's hours???)

I toted him around as we did more research, and finally brought him to the closest 24 hr vet clinic in DC. They only provide services for dogs and cats, but gave me a little box with a face cloth in it to mimic a nest, and one of the vets came out to take a quick peek at him, since she had rehabilitated squirrels while in college. He had some dried blood around his nose, which confirmed some sort of injury, either from falling from the nest, or the dog attack ~ either way, not a good sign.

Still persisting, I continued to call more rescue leagues, and spoke to a few people who told me that they couldn't help me, but suggested a few more ideas to keep him comfortable in the meantime. (Like filling a sock with dried rice, and placing it in the microwave for a few minutes to place next to him in his mock-nest to keep him warm and cozily nestled. Done! And going to Petco to buy kitten formula, and a kitten baby bottle to begin nursing him, since he was not old enough to be fully weened yet. Also done!)

I then made the mistake of calling a second vet's office, where I spoke to an evil man with a thick, indistinguishable foreign accent, who told me, "Due to the dried blood around his nose, we are probably dealing with severe internal injuries, leading to blot clots and hemorrhaging. He most likely won't make it til morning, so you probably won't have to worry about rescue leagues." (What a jerk!!!)

Needless to say, I have been nursing him back to health, until I can drive him a few hours outside DC to the nearest Wildlife Animal Rescue League. Here are some pics, and I will post more, and some videos as time allows!

Thanks to everyone for all the support and well wishing for this little guy!!! He really is the sweetest, cutest thing ever, so it helps to know that we are all rooting for him! Many thanks!

In gratitude! ~ Will & Buddy!