Come Play With Me

To A Squirrel At Kyle-Na-No
by William Butler Yeats

Come play with me;
Why should you run
Through the shaking tree
As though I'd a gun
To strike you dead?
When all I would do
Is to scratch your head
And let you go.

Living near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I frequently see squirrels in the park, especially when I’m with my dog PoohBear, who always sees them first as he dashes across the field to investigate. But I’ve never seen a baby squirrel.

And just as I was wondering about the little newborn furbabies, I found some lovely photos online of a baby squirrel who fell out of his drey (nest), was caught by a dog and then rescued by his fierce mother!

Of course no one knows what the dog was going to do. Perhaps she was just rescuing the baby. Whatever the dog’s motive, mama squirrel practically flew down the trunk of that tree and snatched her baby from fido. When it comes to protecting their babies, all mothers are fierce.

After being attacked by the squirrel, the dog looked bewildered as he watched the proud mama gently carry her baby back to the nest. Could the dog have been thinking, “Don’t be angry, I was just tryin’ to save your baby!"?

You never know—after all there have been several dog mothers who adopted baby squirrels!

Above photos: Dog catches baby squirrel, but just look up the trunk of the tree. Mama is on her way!; Tough mama!; There she goes up the tree with her unhurt baby in her arms. The dog looks perplexed!

This Chihuahua mama is nurturing baby squirrels.

These two forest babies (marsh rabbit and baby squirrel) were rescued by the Forest Babies Rehabilitation Center. They do great work. Please visit their site. They can tell you what to do if you find an injured baby squirrel.

Sometimes a mama from another species will raise little baby squirrels with their own babies. Here are two lovely videos of baby squirrels who owe their lives to a mama cat.

Send in a photo and prayer for your pet!
 
Sharon Azar is an assistant to the editorial staff at GUIDEPOSTS. In her spare time, she rescues dogs and does portraits of furry, feathered and scaled companion animals. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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