Squirrel loves to cuddle with rescuer
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00:00 Why are you upset?
00:01 [dog barks]
00:01 She's like a dog.
00:02 [dog barks]
00:03 What's the matter, baby?
00:04 [dog barks]
00:04 [dog barks]
00:05 Loves to lay on my lap, likes to be massaged.
00:07 What happened?
00:08 She will bark.
00:08 [dog barks]
00:10 When I go away and she gets sad.
00:12 Mommy's leaving for a while.
00:13 [dog barks]
00:14 My name is Alicia and this is Grace's story for GOBs.
00:18 I had contractors in front of my house doing some work
00:21 and they came across a squirrel that was lying under the bush,
00:24 completely limp, not moving.
00:26 They knew that I was a rehabber,
00:28 so they immediately came to get me for help.
00:30 I picked Grace up and she was cold.
00:32 It looked like she had been hit by a car.
00:35 I started on antibiotics and I got her hydrated right away,
00:38 as soon as possible.
00:39 When squirrels are in pain, they get this thing called a milky eye.
00:42 I also was able to get her some pain meds and I just hoped for the best.
00:46 I honestly did not think she was going to make it through the night.
00:49 So I watched her all night.
00:51 I held her in a blanket all night long
00:53 and every few hours kept administering some more hydration to her
00:57 and she made it through the night.
00:58 So that was her first miracle.
01:00 From that point on, it was months of rehabbing her.
01:03 She was in really bad shape.
01:04 What?
01:05 It took a very, very long time to get her up and running,
01:09 to at least get as recovered as she could.
01:11 Coming out?
01:12 She is now going to be four years old.
01:15 Apparently Grace thinks she's still a baby.
01:17 When I found her, according to her size, she was around four months old.
01:20 Is that good?
01:21 You're goofy.
01:24 She still has a lot of issues, but they're not so severe.
01:27 But she can't be released.
01:29 She would not last long at all.
01:30 It's okay.
01:31 She can jump now where she couldn't before,
01:33 but now when she jumps, sometimes she gets wobbly and she will fall.
01:37 But she is active and playful.
01:39 Grace, you're crazy.
01:40 We bonded really quickly once she started feeling better
01:48 to the point she wanted to be held all the time.
01:51 I felt like she was grateful that she was feeling better,
01:54 and she definitely showed that.
01:56 It's all right, baby.
01:57 It's okay.
01:58 Aw.
02:00 She is like a lap dog.
02:02 She likes to have her head massaged and her shoulders.
02:04 She will lay there for as long as I keep rubbing her.
02:07 She crazy Otis, right?
02:08 It's kind of like living with a toddler.
02:10 When I'm laying in bed and watching TV at night,
02:15 she wants to jump in bed with me and snuggle,
02:17 and she actually will sit there and watch the TV with me.
02:20 The hulk out there, she's a super sweet girl.
02:23 Almost like she has no idea of what outside life was like,
02:26 but she is an extremely lovable, happy girl.
02:30 I give her lots of toys.
02:32 I bring tree limbs in from outside.
02:34 Anything and everything that I can give her to entertain her
02:37 to keep her mind off of chewing my stuff.
02:40 What are you doing, Grace?
02:40 She's actually afraid of almost everything.
02:46 So she'll run out and she'll run straight back in my room if I tell her,
02:49 "Grace, get back in your room."
02:50 She actually will run back on her own.
02:52 I won't have to pick her up.
02:53 You're so sweet.
02:54 She's very close with me.
02:56 Until you actually have a relationship with a squirrel,
02:58 which is so weird to say,
02:59 but until you actually experience it,
03:01 you'll never understand it.
03:03 They are such unique creatures.
03:04 So social, so loyal.
03:06 Very loyal to their caretakers,
03:08 and they will bond for life.
03:10 Grace clearly gets sad when I'm not around.
03:13 She eats a lot less when I'm not home.
03:15 Hi, Grace.
03:15 My husband, he'll feed her if I'm out of town, but that's it.
03:18 I'll be back.
03:19 She won't have nothing to do with anybody.
03:20 She wants me.
03:21 She's my miracle squirrel, really.
03:24 I didn't expect her to live.
03:26 And once she pulled through and we became so bonded,
03:30 I tell her all the time how lucky I am to have her.
03:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:40 (upbeat music)