A Tail-Waggin’ Squirrel’s Tale

A great friend and wonderful human being named Tom sent this story to me. It came with a lot of cute photos but most (ok ALL of them that weren’t from reblogs–SIGH) of the photos I’ve tried to download into prior posts didn’t show up in my blog—I am a SLOW learner—so for now I’m posting the story without the pix, but I’ve asked him for a link to the story and if he has one you may be able to see cute photos in a later post:

Debby Cantlon, rescued a baby squirrel she named Glen and plans to release him back into the wild. She bottle-fed the infant squirrel after it was brought to her house.

When Cantlon took in the tiny creature and began caring for him, she found herself with an unlikely nurse’s aide: her pregnant Papillion, Mademoiselle Giselle.

Glen was resting in a nest in a cage just days before Giselle was due to deliver her puppies. Cantlon and her husband watched as the dog dragged the squirrel’s cage twice to her own bedside before she gave birth.

Cantlon was concerned, yet ultimately decided to allow the squirrel out and the inter-species bonding began.

Glen rides a puppy mosh pit of sorts, burrowing in for warmth after feeding, eventually working his way beneath his new litter mates.

Two days after giving birth, mama dog Giselle allowed Glen to nurse; family photos and a videotape show her encouraging him to suckle alongside her litter of five pups. Now, Glen mostly uses a bottle, but still snuggles with his ‘siblings’ in a mosh pit of puppies, rolling atop their bodies, and sinking in deeply for a nap.

Glen and his new litter mates, five Papillion puppies, get along together as if they were meant to.

Glen naps after feeding.

Glen makes himself at home with his new litter mates, nuzzling nose-to-nose for a nap after feeding.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all get along like Glen and the gang?

MORAL OF THE STORY: Keep loving everyone, even the squirrelly ones

Unknown's avatar

About russtowne

I'm awed by the beauty of nature and the power of love and gratitude. Some of my favorite sensory experiences include waves crashing on rocky shores, waterways in ancient redwood and fern-filled forests, and rain. My wife and I have been married since 1979. We have 3 adult children and 5 grandchildren. I manage a wealth management firm that I founded in 2003. My Beloved is a Special Education teacher for Kindergartners and First Graders. I'm a published author of approximately 60 books in a variety of genres for grownups and children.
This entry was posted in Dogs & Other Wonderful Creatures, Friendship, Generosity, Inspiring, Making the World a Better Place, Nature, Optimism, Parenting, Vids & Stories That Touched Me and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

6 Responses to A Tail-Waggin’ Squirrel’s Tale

  1. Cathy Ulrich's avatar Cathy Ulrich says:

    Love it! Would love to see the pictures…Thanks for sharing, Russ!

  2. russtowne's avatar russtowne says:

    Thank you, Cathy. I’d love to be able to figure out how to post the pix. I know that sooner or later I’ll be able to do so.

    Russ

  3. They Forgot to Mention...'s avatar Paws To Talk says:

    The last line is our favorite 🙂

    Bella and DiDi

  4. russtowne's avatar russtowne says:

    That sounds reasonable to me. I’ll bet the squirrels took a little convincing but that the two of you were more than dog enough to handle the job!

    RUss

Leave a reply to Paws To Talk Cancel reply