|
WHEN
LIFE GETS COMPLICATED,
PEACE IS STILL REALIZABLE
IN SIMPLE PLACES,
A DEEP BREATH, AND
IN
THE HEARTS OF KIND PEOPLE
|
 |
For about as long as
she can remember, Debby Cantlon says, friends and strangers have brought
her animals in need. So it wasn't much of a surprise when someone asked
her if she'd care for a newborn squirrel found at the base of a tree
somewhere near
Renton
|
 |
Debby
Cantlon, who plans to release Finnegan, the young squirrel, back into
the wild, bottle-fed the infant squirrel after it was brought to her
house. Cantlon, who has cancer, says rescuing injured animals is
therapeutic for her.
|
 |
When Cantlon took in
the tiny creature and began caring for him, she found herself with an
unlikely nurse's aide: her pregnant Papillon, Mademoiselle Giselle |
 |
Finnegan was resting
in a nest in a cage just days before Giselle was due to deliver her
puppies. |
 |
Cantlon and her
husband watched as the dog dragged the squirrel's cage — twice — to
her own bedside before she gave birth. |
 |
Cantlon was
concerned, yet ultimately decided to allow the squirrel out — and the
inter-species bonding began. |
 |
Finnegan
rides a puppy mosh pit of sorts, burrowing in for warmth after feeding,
and eventually working his way beneath his new litter mates.
|
 |
Two
days after giving birth, mama dog Giselle allowed Finnegan to nurse;
family photos and a videotape show her encouraging him to suckle
alongside her litter of five pups.
|
 |
Now, Finnegan mostly
uses a bottle, but still snuggles with his "siblings" in a
mosh pit of puppies, rolling atop their bodies and sinking in deeply for
a nap. |
 |
Finnegan
and his new litter mates, five Papillion puppies, get along together as
if they were meant to.
|
 |
Finnegan
naps after feeding.
|
 |
Finnegan makes
himself at home with his new litter mates, nuzzling nose-to-nose for a
nap after feeding. |
|
Susan's articles are featured on
TheEzineDotNet
|
|