When a woman was approached by an adorable animal as she walked her dog through the park on the way to work, she was left gobsmacked and unsure of what to do next
A woman was minding her own business walking through a park in London when she made a surprising friend. People joked that she’d managed to film the moment she became a “real-life Disney princess,” as Jennifer became unlikely pals with a squirrel while walking her dog before work. “He keeps crawling on my shoe and following me,” Jennifer, who posts on social media as @girlintheyearabove, shared.
She even said that the squirrel “wasn’t scared” of her dog, because he kept trying to play with him, which she was shocked about. Jennifer said she wasn’t sure what to do about her unlikely friend.
She showed a video of her dog and the squirrel frolicking in the grass together, and the squirrel nibbling on her shoelaces as she stroked him.
Jennifer picked the squirrel up, and he was curled up in her hand, grooming his tail, looking truly adorable.
“Shall I take him?” she questioned, not knowing what to do, as the squirrel had “chosen” her. “I need to go to work,” she continued.
The squirrel then made his way around her dress, as Jennifer said, “This is crazy!”
Jennifer then tried to place the squirrel on the tree so he could go back and find his family; however, he ended up back on her shoe.
In the comments, people begged her for updates, but some pointed out that there may be a really sad reason the squirrel has latched onto her in such a way.
One woman wrote: “Thatās an orphaned baby, I hope you find them, they need a wildlife rescue caregiver”.
Another penned: “I donāt think he has a mum. I think you might have to be his mum. I hope you didnāt just leave him there”.
“It’s really difficult. You don’t want to interfere, but yeah, a squirrel shouldn’t be doing this. Likelihood is it’s lost its mum, and even if it hasn’t, you can’t leave it there when it’s behaving with no fear. Especially towards dogs… I think you’ve just gained a squirrel,” a woman added.
According to Procyon Wildlife, squirrels behave this way when they need help.
They explained: “Squirrels are one of the only baby animals that will ‘ask for help’ when in trouble. A hungry baby squirrel may approach you, often climbing onto your shoes or climbing [up] your pant leg. This is a hungry baby. Don’t feed it, take it to a rehabilitation centre right away”.
According to Four Paws, squirrels seek proximity to humans when they need help, and this is neither a sign of “aggression or illness” – they just need taking care of.
They share that if a squirrel behaves in this way, you should:
- Wrap the young squirrel in a sweater to give it warmth and security, and take it home.
- Put the squirrel in a box. Close it with a lid, which you must provide with air holes beforehand. So the squirrel cannot escape but gets enough fresh air.
- When you get home, you should fill a hot water bottle or plastic bottle with warm (not too hot) water and put it in a box. With a blanket, you can build a small nest for the squirrel in which it feels safe.
- Pay attention to the right amount of warmth: the optimal temperature for squirrels is between 36 and 38 degrees.
- The box can then be placed in a draft-free location.
You should then contact a rehabilitation centre as soon as possible so they can take care of the squirrel.
However, when asked “what did you end up doing?” in the comments, Jennifer clarified: “Finding its mum and feeding them blueberries,” so it seems like there may be a happy ending.
She also shared that she’d been feeding them both each morning, to which someone replied: “You’re a real life angel”.
