So, I had a pretty somber morning today. Zigg called me on my way home from driving my mother to work (so I could borrow her car for the day) and said that he found an injured squirrel on his way home from work and didn't know what to do. So I said i would call animal control and call him back. So I tried calling animal control and was put on hold. Stayed on hold for maybe ten-fifteen minutes. Still no answer. So I called him back and said they didn't answer. He said he'd feel bad if we just left it, what should we do? So I tell him I'll come over there with a box. I get two pairs of latex gloves, a good sized box and one of my ratty old towels and drive over to where he was. We find the squirrel and put on the gloves and we pick him up. He tries to get away but we suspect his paw was injured and he couldn't move very well. He started squeeking out for another squirrel, we tried to get it to the other squirrel but a dog barking scared it away (we suspect the dog is what got to this squirrel). So we place it gently in the box and it nestles into the towel and calms down a bit. We get it home, and I see to getting it some water in a little dish while Zigg tries to get a hold of Animal Control or SPCA. Still we get no response, and the squirrel has come to a little bit and has started calling out again. So I pick him up again to inspect his injuries and I see that the blood is coming from his nose and mouth, not his paw (which just had blood on it). Usually, that means some pretty severe internal bleeding, and I have little hope for the guy at that point. That and his calling was getting quieter. So, I just hold him next to my heart, and try to keep him warm with my hand and gently pet his head and shoulders. He stopped calling and tried to climb my shirt a little bit, then curled back into my hands. His limbs jerked and he went still and limp. Zigg came back to tell me that Animal Control still wasn't answering and I said that it was alright.

We put him back into the box on the towel and debated what to do. We decided to take him out to the field behind my apartments and bury him. Zigg dug the hole, then I placed him curled up inside so he looked like he was sleeping. Then we said a few words for him, cast the first bits of dirt in, then buried him.

We were both feeling a bid down, and Zigg asked if he should feel sad over it. I said it was normal since he spent 40 minutes with it before I got there, and we tried to help it. Then I told him, at the very least, at least he didn't die alone on the sidewalk on a busy street, and he died warm and next to a big heartbeat, and that most people wouldn't have done anything.

So that was my morning, I'm hoping that in spite of all this we can still have a good day today, but what a way for Zigg to start his weekend, huh?