Teens Drop Everything To Help 'Frozen' Squirrel
Two teenagers were hanging out in downtown St. Andrews in New Brunswick, Canada, when they noticed a crowd of people standing around a car. They went over to investigate and were told there was a squirrel underneath the car desperately in need of help — but when the little creature emerged, the teens were shocked to realize that he looked absolutely nothing like a squirrel.
Somehow, the squirrel had become covered in foam insulation, the kind used to patch up holes in the home. It’s likely that he accidentally ran through the material while it was wet — and once it dried all over him, the poor little guy could barely move.
The two teenagers, Jaydon Pettipas and Aidan Hart, immediately felt compassion for the injured squirrel and knew he wasn’t going to survive unless someone helped him immediately. They ran inside a grocery store and got a milk crate they could put the squirrel in, then quickly set about calling friends and family to get advice on what to do.
“After calling a few people for help, one of the boys’ moms finally called me at the vet clinic,” Dr. Melanie Eagan, owner of the St. George Veterinary Clinic, told The Dodo.
After talking to Eagan on the phone, the group drove over 21 miles to the St. George Veterinary Clinic to drop off the squirrel, hoping that Eagan could somehow save his life. When they arrived and transferred the squirrel into her care, Eagan could barely believe her eyes.
“He could hardly move and, really, I'm amazed he was still alive — the foam was blocking off most of his mouth and nostrils,” Eagan said. “He could move his back legs just a bit, but the rest of his body was literally cemented into place.”
Eagan quickly sedated the squirrel, and then, using rubbing alcohol and a flea comb, set about the long process of getting all of the foam insulation off the squirrel’s tiny body, and was amazed when all of her efforts actually worked.
“It took about an hour,” Eagan said. “There were some patches of fur gone and some abrasions on his skin, but in the end he didn't look too bad!”
Considering the condition the squirrel had been in when he’d arrived, Eagan was shocked that she was able to help him pull through. Exhausted from his very scary ordeal, the squirrel snuggled up and went to sleep for a few hours, and Eagan stayed at the clinic to watch over him the entire time.
When he was finally awake and clearly feeling so much better, Eagan was able to release him back into the wild, and was overjoyed to see how happy he was to be healthy and free again.
“He was pretty excited to get out of the clinic and up a tree,” Eagan said. “If it hadn't been for those teenage boys, he would not have lived.”
Original post here.