Gone but not forgotten

[Pasofever]

9 yrs ago I raised this little runt from a pup....I had raised 3 before him and watched after I released them as a hawk picked them off my fence line one by one..My fat little milk fed squirrel children..

I had a lady over the internet from Iowa contact me and she wanted him as a pet. I really did not want that for him but was tired of watching them get plucked off..so I said yes if you will drive to get him you can have him..She had one already and had one whole room on her house squirrel proofed...He had 9 good years which I bet he would not have had in the wild...


I got this letter yesterday...

TAILS PASSED AWAY SUNDAY JULY 8TH 2007 AT 6:40P.M.

HE TOOK HIS LAST BREATHS IN MY ARMS.

WE WILL ALL MISS HIM AND WILL FOREVER BE IN OUR HEARTS. HE IS GONE BUT WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!

I wrote her and got this back..

Thank you so much for your reply & kind words…Tails would have been 9 years old in September…He had started to lose weight, but was still eating and drinking…that night I had given him a pea pod, and he ate it…and when he was finished eating it he was standing there looking at me…something came over me that I needed to take him out and hold him…and I did…I held him for about 15 mins…telling him that it was ok and that I LOVED HIM…and he passed away shortly after that, as if he waited for me to hold him so he could pass on…I will indeed miss him and am still grieving for him…I know that his spirit will always be with me, and there are so many great memories of him and will forever be in my heart…we had such a connection that could never be broken…I got him in Iowa…and we are in Iowa now…moved again to another small town in Jan this year…Hope you are doing well, keep in touch…



Vanessa


Needless to say I cried...

 

[krazd_kat]

wow... I'm sorry.... Amazing to have a squirrel for 9 years, I always thought they started acting wild after getting some age on them. I think they are adorable.

 

[Pasofever]

wow... I'm sorry.... Amazing to have a squirrel for 9 years, I always thought they started acting wild after getting some age on them. I think they are adorable.

Yeah and he was a male ..usually around 12 weeks they go ape shiat here and are all over the house so I let them loose quick...and you cant catch them...He never got like that..he was kinda slow and an only baby he was very cold when I got him (chilled) and he would suck his own all the time...I dont think he would have done well..this was the last squirrel child I raised...

 

[usagent]

I think they are adorable.[/QUOTE]


......And taste good as soup.

 

[Mousebaby]

My sister raised one. His name was Freckle. He was 12 when he died. He is now buried in my front yard and has his very own rose bush that he nourishes. I called him my fuzzy nephew. So every year now when that rose bush blooms, I say Hi Freckle!! Makes me feel good inside, I miss him terribley, I can only imagine how my sister feels. Sorry for your loss Paso.

 

[cattitude]

Awww...I had one too, but he only lived 5 years. He was on my mom's doorstep with eyes closed and barely any hair. I bottle fed him. He was a riot. His name was Rocky (Rocket J. Squirrel) of course.

 

[Inkpen]

It is against Maryland state law to keep a wild animal as a pet or to raise it as a pet.
It is against the law for any one living in Maryland to house, keep, raise, feed wildlife unless you are licensed by DNR to do so.

It is against the law in Maryland to keep wild animals if you are not a licensed rehabilitor, even if you plan to release them.

It is against state and federal law to transport wildlife across state lines without proper paperwork from Maryland of US Fish and Wildlife.

Too many smart animals suffer at the hands of stupid, yet well meaning people.

To force a squirrel to live as a pet for 9 years is animal abuse.
It is not a pet, it is a wild animal.

You have issues, PM me and I will provide you with a copy of COMAR.
You have issues, call Mary Goldie at DNR, in Annapolis and ask her if you can keep a wild animal as a pet.
Ask about transporting across state line too.

You could have released him in an area that was "SAFE" for squirrels Paso, but I doubt you thought of that.

Better the squirrel died as hawk food than live in forced captivity for his entire life as a prisoner.

 

[Pasofever]

Well its a good thing Catt's only lived as a prisoner for 5 yrs and poor Mousebabys sisters lived for 12 poor damn things..

I will remember this next time I drive down the road and see no less then 5 squished in the road..

When Tails had a 12 X 12 room full of all kinds of stuff to do and wonderful food...oh and a friend too.

 

[Inkpen]

But they did not post a story about it and brag about it.

Sad they all lived as captured wildlife and never had the chance to live the life nature intended.

 

[Pasofever]

But they did not post a story about it and brag about it.

Sad they all lived as captured wildlife and never had the chance to live the life nature intended.

Sorry you thought I was bragging about his death...DF!

 

[Mousebaby]

But they did not post a story about it and brag about it.

Sad they all lived as captured wildlife and never had the chance to live the life nature intended.

Sorry Inkpen, my sister did release all of Freckles siblings, he was unreleasable. She lived in Texas and had moved here from there and he died about a year later. She didn't want to leave him in a yard she could never visit again so she chose my house to bury him. I don't know the exact details as to why he was not released, but my sister worked for the wildlife refuge in San Antonio for years. She knew what she was doing. I hope this makes you feel better.

 

[cattitude]

Sorry Inkpen, my sister did release all of Freckles siblings, he was unreleasable. She lived in Texas and had moved here from there and he died about a year later. She didn't want to leave him in a yard she could never visit again so she chose my house to bury him. I don't know the exact details as to why he was not released, but my sister worked for the wildlife refuge in San Antonio for years. She knew what she was doing. I hope this makes you feel better.

Twenty five years ago when I found the baby squirrel, I went everywhere to try to get help and there wasn't much available. I took him to the Brookside Nature Center in Montgomery County, consulted with a gray squirrel expert at the University of Maryland and a few other people....I really didn't want to keep him. Unfortunately, it just worked out that there was no place for him to go at the time. I did the best I could at the time.

Fast forward many years, I was was lucky to find Diane Pearce and took all my wildlife rescues to her and now there are also other avenues as well.

 

[Pasofever]

Mine was almost 10 yrs ago..maybe we made her feel better now...she got it out of her system so I am sure she feels better..

 

[kwillia]

I'm sure glad we didn't have internet back in the day we brought home a three inch baby possum and nurtured him, taught him to catch crickets, climb trees, etc. and set him free on a wildlife preserve once he reached adulthood. Mama might ought to have stomped his poor little head for fear of being thrown in jail.

 

[Pasofever]

I'm sure glad we didn't have internet back in the day we brought home a three inch baby possum and nurtured him, taught him to catch crickets, climb trees, etc. and set him free on a wildlife preserve once he reached adulthood. Mama might ought to have stomped his poor little head for fear of being thrown in jail.

And the time 15 yrs ago I did the cutest baby skunks all 6 of them..they were adorable...

 

[Inkpen]

Mine was almost 10 yrs ago..maybe we made her feel better now...she got it out of her system so I am sure she feels better..

Piss off...
It is not about getting it out of my system..it is about doing what you did and not knowing about state laws...and people reading your post and thinking it is OK to steal animals from their environment...and never return them.

I posted about the law so smart animals dont get hurt by stupid people.

And that includes buying animals off the internet and keeping them in cages.
It is all wrong.

If I dont speak up for the wildlife, who will??

 

[Pasofever]

Is that the best you can do??

 

[Inkpen]

Is that the best you can do??

This a contest or something?
..................

 

[mainman]

This a contest or something?
..................

sycho:

 

[Pasofever]

This a contest or something?
..................

Yeah see who can blow more smoke up the others ass...right now you are winning..