No need to call the cops. It’s my squirrel kid, not my human one. That’s right. We’re those bad neighbors who feed the squirrels. Over the past 4 years, we’ve gotten quite a large family of them who visit us on a daily basis. I’ll admit that we should have never started this trend to begin with, but it’s too late now. Plus, they’re cute and very friendly.
Every day they greet us at the door. One day there may be two and other days we are met with a whole gang of them. For instance, two days ago there were at least nine surrounding me when I left the house. Because of them, we keep plenty of peanuts in stock. One squirrel in particular we’ve had for the past 3 years. He will walk with us to the car and even eat from our hand. That’s a big no no, I know. But, what’s the big deal about rabies anyway? (sarcasm)
Our ‘kids’ provide me with entertainment throughout the day. I work from home as a freelance writer, so it tends to get lonely around here. Don’t get me wrong, I love the peace and quiet and prefer it over just about anything. But, it’s nice when my little friends come by to visit. They each have their own characteristics and unique appearances. Five of them have names, although I doubt they care what we call them, as long as we have peanuts in hand. Name or no name, they’re our ‘kids’.
Sadly, this morning when I arrived home from running errands, I saw one of them in a trap on a roof next door. The poor little guy was fighting with all his might to free himself, but to no avail. I kept hoping that he would find a way to get loose, but there was no escape.
The thought came to mind several times to grab a ladder and go free him myself, but I knew that it would be very risky to do so. The little guy was terrified and even if he was my ‘kid’ from the past 3 years, he may have still bitten me simply out of fear. So, I let him be and watched him as he struggled, and later as he gave up. It was very sad.
Hours after notifying pest control of his capture, I’m still waiting for them to come take him away. Unfortunately, I think he has already met his demise. He hasn’t moved in hours. My poor ‘kid’. In honor of him, no other squirrels have been fed today.
Just as most people get sad over the loss of their cat or dog, today I am sad at the loss of my ‘pet’ squirrel. He wasn’t out to harm anyone. He just wanted peanuts. Goodbye, my little furry friend.
Me - Who am I? 
oh gosh….I better not say what I’m really thinking……okay fine I will anyways; AHHHHHHHHHHHH squirrel feeding neighbors; I AM SO GLAD you don’ t live next door to me 🙂 ….I have some squirrel feeding neighbors a block down from me and that works out just fine…..I love squirrels…but when I walk by that house and see the squirrels all over the people’s porch, well all I can think is I’m glad its not my porch! (I admit it; I can handle snakes no problem, they don’t scare me…but rodents bloody freak me out!!!!)
lol I still love ya though 🙂
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You crack me up! Hey, I say what I’m thinking on your blog, so I think it’s only fair that you do the same. 🙂 Rodents? My little furry friends are not rodents. Mice are rodents. Okay, technically squirrels are, but not to me. 🙂 If you ever change your mind, grab a handful of peanuts and you may find squirrels to be pretty adorable.
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aw poor squirrel! We don’t get them in New Zealand so I’m blissfully unaware of rabies and other problems… but they’re so cute! I would definitely be a feeder too hehe.
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Really? There’s no squirrels in New Zealand? I had no idea. They are cute and so precious! I doubt that many of them actually have rabies, but just the possibility of it scares people. Regardless, I like them.
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No squirrels 🙂 We get ferrets and stoats in certain areas, but our main ‘problem’ are possums and rabbits – I do quite like possums as long as you dont look at their teeth too closely! People are forbidden to keep them as pets either but its a hard policy to enforce 🙂 We are rabies free too, our only main concern is TB in wild animals 🙂
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“If you ever change your mind, grab a handful of peanuts and you may find squirrels to be pretty adorable”
okay let me think about that…….alright I thought about it; no way jose!!!! bloody no!!!! hell no!!!! ain’t feeding no rodents at my house!!!! but if I’m ever walking by your porch i’ll be sure to throw a bunch of cashews at your doorstep!
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Haha! 🙂 Aw, cashews, eh? You’re so thoughtful.
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yea…well I ‘gots’ champagne taste when it comes to nuts 😉
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I’m one of those ‘bad neighbors’ too, although with my husband and me it’s the stray cats. Yep, we feed them. However, when it’s possible, we also capture them to get them ‘fixed’ so that they don’t produce any more. There’s an organization in this town that with ‘fix’ stray cats at a huge discount.
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I’d say that if you have them fixed, then that makes you a good neighbor. At least your trying to cut down the population growth. It’s great that someone feeds them. It’s hard to watch them go hungry. It’s not their fault that their owners decided to let them go free or abandon them.
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You made me cry! Poor little Guy!
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It’s been very heartbreaking to watch. They still haven’t come to get him. 😦
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Oh dear, that’s sad. We don’t have squirrels here but kangaroos can be a problem in our area (not particularly where I live although we sometimes spot wallabies on the front lawn). They can become quite aggressive and it’s not recommended you go near them.
Contrary to popular belief, ‘roos are not found hopping up the main streets in cities. lol
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Yes, they finally removed him a little over 24 hours later. I had no idea that kangaroos could be aggressive. From what is shown on TV (because we know everything on TV is true – haha), a person would think that they are very gentle.
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Roos in the wild are a different kettle of fish to those found in nature parks. The ones in the parks have become used to human contact and being fed so you can approach them and pat them etc. The ones in the wild can become extremely aggressive. There have been attacks in our area from rogue ‘roos.
Sorry to hear your boy has gone though. 😦
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Awww, poor baby!
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I know… So sad! The dogs were probably cheering though. 🙂
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