It finally happened. The dog caught the squirrel. I am MORTIFIED. I have had lots of dogs in my lifetime and not one of them actually caught the squirrel. A few bunnies and even some baby birds that fell from the nest but not the squirrel! Until now…
Just last week I was in the house putting things away and Big Daddy was on the phone. I peeked out the back door to see what the hound was up too and I saw him “playing” with something. I screamed, hubby hung up on his phone call, (the guy on the phone thought we were being killed by savage serial killers) and we both ran outside to what we thought was the dog playing with a snake. Nope. It was a squirrel, now paralyzed with fear and breathing so hard I thought his heart would pop out of his little chest.
The dog was throwing it up in the air and shaking it like a polaroid picture. And he was not going to let us take it from him without a fight. I grabbed his collar and he dropped the poor little guy and hubby picked him up on a rake. The little guy was gasping for air and seemed to have 2 broken legs. And those eyes, those big, dark, scared eyes. I was like, Oh NO DON’T DIE!
We got the squirrel in a shoe box, found a place that would take him. It’s an emergency vet hospital. They take small animals like squirrels and assess them. If they can be saved, they will do all they can and send them to a rescue center after surgery. If they can’t save them, they euthanize them humanely. Thank goodness!
We get him to the vet and I asked if they would check him for rabies since he was in our dogs mouth. They said small mammals like that don’t usually have rabies. WHAT? My mom told me they do! But then she also told me you couldn’t swim for 30 minutes after eating and that the boogey man was real so….
That squirrel cried all the way to the vet. Big Daddy wouldn’t let me take him out of the box and hold him. I just wanted to hold him, love him and tell him it would be ok. 
The vet didn’t tell us the outcome. So I didn’t get closure. I did get PTSD that day. Now when I see a squirrel in the road or somewhere I come to a stop till I am sure he is safe. I won’t let the dog go out alone anymore. He is still trying to get the next Squirrel. I guess the other yard squirrels didn’t learn anything from their brother being mauled and paralyzed by the hound beast. And I guess this is just the circle of life.
Just another reason I love my daily margaritas!
Cheer’s Y’all!
