Found: Tame Baby Squirrel - Help Me Find It's Home!

[ralla-del-sol.livejournal.com]

So I was at the corner of Highland and Wallace just now and there was this group of little school kids. They were pointing at an area right next to me where a baby squirrel was chillin' on the street. The chaperones said the squirrel had been following them for a few blocks since they left the school. They challenged me to catch it. So I did. But they had left and now I don't know where it belongs!!

It looks like it is not quite half grown and its feet are a bit sprawled. It doesn't seem injured but (as I found out later) it does have lice. EW!

It is residing in a shoe box with holes on my porch and I'm not sure who to call to come get it - it seems that it is a wild animal that someone has been feeding so it is not really afraid of people.

Um... help?

Comments

[balsamicdragon.livejournal.com]

Dial 311 and ask for animal control?

[ralla-del-sol.livejournal.com]

Will animal control kill it or release it into the wild?

[hakamadare.livejournal.com]

Will animal control kill it or release it into the wild?

ask the person on the other end of the phone :)

my interactions to date with Animal Control (http://www.somervillema.gov/Department.cfm?dept=ANIMAL) have led me to belive that they're reasonable, humane people; i suspect that if you describe the situation, they'll tell you what options they have available, and then you can decide how to proceed.

i'd be awfully cautious about the suggestion to give the squirrel to some kid as a pet; you might be exposing yourself to liability if anything goes wrong down the line.

-steve

[ryanwanger.livejournal.com]

If there are any 12 year olds here, I'm sure one will speak up and volunteer for a new pet. Seems like overkill for animal control. If you don't want it as a pet, why not just let it go about it's merry way befriending people in the neighborhood?

this might help

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/young_wildlife.htm

[toodleskitty.livejournal.com]

anodyne19148
--She lives in Pennsylvania but her co-worker found a baby squirrel very recently and is caring for it. You might want to contact anodyne for more info.

MSPCA

[medyani.livejournal.com]

Contact the MA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: phone: (617) 522-7400. They have wildlife specialists, and will be able to discuss the options with you in an informed and supportive fashion. I've been involved with them for years; they are an outstanding organization. To help you (and the squirrel) with this kind of problem is one of the many reasons they exist...

From their website: "Please feel free to contact the Living With Wildlife program for more information about our program, to get help with a wildlife concern, or to find out how you can get involved and make a difference for the wild animals in your community."

[archangelus.livejournal.com]

You should definitely check with some group, since squirrels are rodents, and may carry diseases that might be harmful to you or any other pets you might have.

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

if it's uninjured, you should just release it back outside. they generally can take care of themselves.

[ralla-del-sol.livejournal.com]

I called my cats' vet who has rescued squirrels before, so it is now in her custody and she plans to return it to where I found it after making sure it is okay. If anybody has a neighbor or something that comments on a half grown somewhat tamed squirrel disappearing, please let me know so I can have them take the squirrel back to it's home! :)

Thank you all for your suggestions! Unfortunately, I got most of them after I got home from the vet's.

[ron_newman]

Highland and Wallace? Those don't intersect....

[ralla-del-sol.livejournal.com]

My bad - it's Wallace and HOLLAND. Oops!

[redrider.livejournal.com]

is it a regular squirrel or a flying squirrel? we have neighbors who keep flying squirrels, and we live on park, right off of wallace (so a squirrel making it to holland & wallace could be a possibility).

[ralla-del-sol.livejournal.com]

I think it was a regular squirrel - aren't flying squirrels much smaller?

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad that you called your vet, but I hope your vet told you not to ever do this in the future. Squirrels aren't pets even if you do think they are cute. The baby squirrel's mother is probably wondering what happened to it.

I know a misguided person who tried to help what he thought was an injured squirrel. Instead of helping the squirrel, the squirrel bit him and disappeared. Then he had to go through the whole series of rabies shots.