Tag: Squirrel

Carrots for Breakfast. Squirrel for Lunch.

I spent Sunday morning with my new squirrel friend Spot. I decided to push through my squirrel phobia and see if I could hand feed Spot.  I was only at the barn for a few minutes when Spot parked himself next to my whip. This was my big chance. I held a carrot out with my gloved hand. I could barely watch. I was so afraid he would bite me, jump on me or who knows what? But to my surprise, Spot walked up, gently wrapped his orange teeth around the carrot and waited for me to release it. He never tugged or made any fast movements. It was like he had been doing this his entire life. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I fed Spot a few more carrots. He was always gentle and slow in his movements- so very un-squirrel like. At this point, I was feeling pretty proud of myself for overcoming my fears and planned on getting a picture of this to share.

I finished my barn chores and returned to the tack room ready to try for my squirrel photo op. As I went to open the door, I heard a slight rustling noise off to my left. According to my daughter I said, “Oh geez” and took 2 steps back. Right in front of me was the local bobcat with a squirrel in its mouth. It was so close, I could have touched the cat with my whip. Since the squirrel’s entire head and shoulders were in the cat’s mouth, I couldn’t ID the squirrel. A quick glance around revealed 3 other squirrels in the area. Were any of them mine?

Today is Friday, and I have not seen Spot since Sunday morning. It looks as if my little friend made a tasty lunch for the local bobcat. While I do miss my friend, I realize the bobcat provides a valuable service. With all the squirrels around, I just wish he would have picked another squirrel for lunch. Sorry Spot. Life is pretty rough when you are a squirrel.

DelMarHorseGirl

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The Taming of the Squirrel

I usually dislike rodents at the barn, but I got to thinking….Could I train a wild squirrel to be friendly? I wanted a squirrel to enjoy hanging out with me….maybe even be able to pet it. The only problem with that scenario is that I am secretly scared of touching the little guys. No problem. I found a squirrel willing to work around my phobia.

Meet Spot. Spot is easily recognizable by the large patch of fur that was missing from his back, his torn left ear and the orange snaggle tooth that sometimes protrudes out of the right side of his mouth. He’s a real looker.

Spot was easily target trained to the end of my whip. When Spot hears my voice, he comes out. He sits next to my whip waiting for a carrot. He is so comfortable around me that he hangs out while he eats. He lets me pet him with the whip. I scratch him around the ears and stroke his back. He seems to enjoy the attention. He could easily run off and eat his carrot, but he sticks around until he is done. He waits patiently for the next carrot. He will stay around for quite awhile, leaving occasionally to chase off an interloping squirrel. But then, he comes right back to my whip.

The only challenge with having a squirrel friend, is that they are pretty sneaky. Sometimes while sitting in the tack room, I turn around and find Spot has been sitting quietly behind me the entire time. He scares the crud out of me! Oh well. I will enjoy his company while I can. Squirrels don’t last long around here.

Here’s a little video of my good friend Spot….

DelMarHorseGirl

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