Last night was... interesting, although I don't know that the Asst. Zookeeper would agree with me. We went to bed as normal. Nothing out of the ordinary happening at the Zoo. Some time in the wee hours of the morning, Duchess and Bantley (the furry Zoo members) went absolutely crazy - running around the first floor of the house barking and growling. Scared us out of a sound sleep!
As always, the Asst. Zookeeper took it in stride. He groggily announced that there must be a field mouse in the house and that the dogs would catch it.
I found this to be an upsetting thought - my dogs munching on field mouse for a midnight snack. While I was sitting in bed, and the Asst. Zookeeper had already rolled over, the dogs started another round of insane barking and came BARGING into the bedroom. One dog charged around the bed while the second dog opted to charge OVER the bed and the unlucky occupants - those occupants being me and the sleeping Asst. Zookeeper.
After I shrieked my surprise at being over-run by dogs, I jumped out of bed and closed the bedroom door in an attempt to keep whatever the dogs were chasing trapped in the bedroom. However, I forgot about the small gap under the bedroom door - which was just big enough for the critter's escape route.
The dogs both charged OVER the bed in their attempt to block the critter's escape and failed to notice that the bedroom door was now CLOSED. Did you know that when two dogs run head-first into a closed solid wood door in a room with hardwood floors that it sounds like a gunshot?
After opening the door and releasing the hounds into the house to search for their critter, they headed straight for the bathroom across the hall from our room. They stood and growled at the bathtub and the fur on their backs started to ruffle. Ready to see a field mouse, I braved a look into the tub - only to find this:
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| Isn't he cute? I just want to LOVE him to pieces! |
It was a baby flying squirrel! And he was ADORABLE!!! I'm so glad my dogs felt the need to protect the Zoo from such a vicious, dangerous animal - but feel no need to bark when stranger come to the front door.
Although this little guy was loveable looking, I could see small claws as it was attempting to escape the bathtub. While I wanted to do nothing else but pick him up and cuddle him, I could just hear the Asst. Zookeeper in my head, "It is a WILD animal. You DON'T hug WILD animals."
But this meant I had to get the poor squirrel outside so that it didn't turn into a squirrel-snack. So, I headed back into the bedroom to re-wake the Asst. Zookeeper (for the third time that night) and ask him to capture the squirrel without hurting him.
He woke up quite easily - which was surprising. I made my squirrel-rescue request. His response? "If I catch the squirrel for you, can I please go back to sleep?" Then he just looked at my really hopeful face. "Get me a pot and a lid." And off I ran for the kitchen cupboards!
I came back towards the bathroom with a colander and a lid - because that was what was still in the draining rack from the dinner dishes - to find the Asst. Zookeeper standing in the bathroom in his birthday suit and looking at the squirrel in his bathtub. Did I mention that on warmer nights, the Asst. Zookeeper sleeps in the nude? Maybe I should have mentioned that - makes a difference to the images of the dogs charging OVER the bed.
Anyway! I handed him the colander and the lid and the Asst. Zookeeper promptly scooped the squirrel out of the bathtub. He held it in front of him and proceeded to walk through the house to the back door to release the captive squirrel.
I don't know what possessed me - other than the fact that I was short on sleep at this point - but as the Asst. Zookeeper went to release the squirrel, I yelled, "Stop! Don't let him go! What if he's too little to be out by himself?"
At which point, the Asst. Zookeeper turned to look at me with "The Look." This look says (in the Asst. Zookeeper's voice), "WHY did I marry you again?"
He then turned and set the colander on the porch with the lid still on it. He looked at me and stated, "I don't care what you do with it. I'm going to bed." And he proceeded to walk back to his bed, still naked.
After a middle of the night internet search, I decided the squirrel was old enough to survive on his own out in the world. I released him and headed back to my own bed, guilt free.
Good night, baby squirrel!
