The Right Way to Rescue

Make sure if you ever help take in an orphan animal that you understand what you are doing and if you don't, inquire and find someone that can help you!

This weekend was "squirrel rescue weekend," and I can't emphasize it enough: Make sure that you keep the animal warm and hydrated! 1st of course is getting the animal warm, then hydrating. Another issue is what you feed that animal that you take in.

The squirrels that I got today and last night had been fed kitten replacer milk, while puppy milk (Esbilac) is actually the closest thing to a squirrels milk. So if you, or someone you know takes in a squirrel (or other animal), please get it to an appropriately licensed rehabber who knows how to properly care for them right away. Often what happens, is a person will take in one of these orphaned animals with good intentions and plans to raise them on their own. Then a few days or maybe a week later we will get a call stating that they found a squirrel and that they have had it for a given number of days, and the squirrel seems ill. By the time they they actually seek help for it, it can often be too late!

So, please let anyone that you may know that takes in an animal to properly research and inquire on the care of the animal. In these times we are blessed with the availability of technology and being able to pretty much google any topic that we want to learn about. Here is one link that may help if someone ever gets into this situation:

http://www.squirrelstore.com - Has information for the care of orphaned squirrels and supplies (if needed)

REMEMBER *NEVER TRY AND FEED A COLD/DEHYDRATED ANIMAL*
FOLLOW THE APPROPRIATE PROTOCOL!!!