The Story of Harry and Squiggy

Who would have ever thought that two people I know would be crazy enough to “adopt” squirrels, but it is true. Both of the stories sound so similar, I would have guessed that they had gotten together and made it up, but these were strangers who lived miles apart.

Back in the spring, two different Texans in two different cities were walking in their yards when they discovered small brown objects curled up. At first thought they presumed they were mice, but after closer observation it was determined that they were actually baby squirrels that had apparently fallen from their nests. Now I think God must have given these people an extra dose of compassion because they actually researched what to do to save the lives of these creatures and learned that they should feed the baby animals with droppers and keep them in a warm spot. So they each made an “apartment” for their new adoptee out of a box with warm cloths and fed them several times a day with some play time mixed in between. Well, both of the critters survived their traumatic childhood and thrived. They were known to have fun with the family pets, come when they were called and even enter the homes when invited to do so. The teenage years brought new challenges as they had to be taught how to climb the trees and interact with other rodents of their species, but even with the releasing into the wild the animals continued to return each day for their special pecan treats.

In a way, I think this is extreme, but in another I think it is pretty cool. This is the way God intended for it to be—He wanted people and animals to live cohesively with man taking care of the animals, but after the fall in the Garden of Eden, the animals became afraid of their supposed caregivers and rightfully so. In the end, God will bring back the fellowship of animals with each other and man will again be in his rightful place of authority. “Hairy” and “Squiggy” are just a little ahead of their time, but maybe it tells us that the future is near.

Isaiah 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (In this case it could read “the squirrels will lay down with the dogs and the people will feed them!” I hope that made you smile.)

www.hearthope.org