About 35 years ago on a beautiful summer day, with my car on ramps I slide under to replace an intermittent starting motor. My wife was on the stoop sipping an Ice-Tea, watching me work. After a while I got the feeling something was there with me, I was so busy removing Hardware, I didn't notice what was going on around me, I turned my head to see,i and about a foot from my face was a gray squirrel, in a Split Second I thought he's got to be mad, he's going to attack, he's rabid, I lifted myself up to get away, instead all I did was crunch my head on the car underside. I did manage to squirm out the opposite Direction from the squirrel. I headed to the scoop where my wife was she looks up and says you got a friend behind you I turn around and the squirrel had follow me I asked my wife to go into the house and get some nuts, she returned with a handful of cashew nuts, I just had this feeling this was a friendly squirrel I was right because I could hand feed him. I sat on the stoop he jumped up on my lap take a nut and either ate it there or Take it across the street I assume to bury it. We named him Cashew. Cashew became friendly with my whole family all of us could feed him let him sit on our laps, lightly pet him. We kept a stock of nuts on hand we look forward to feeding him, this went on for about 2 1/2 years then one day he stopped showing. Of course we wondered what happened to him, we'll never know what happened. He was a special critter to me and my family, it was our close encounter with nature. A truly memorable experience.
I can identify with your rapport with the critters. I am the adopted dad of several chipmunks from three colonies. The farthest away is over 800 feet. The closest, under my front porch. They get breakfast, lunch and supper of peanuts (and ceramic filtered water to drink). For the cost of a movie a week, I get much more educational value in peanuts than theatre popcorn. They have more entertainment value than anything I have ever seen from Disney, Marvel, MGM or any other studio because they are real time and unscripted. EG. Two of them have a concept of barter. They bring me things like aluminum pop tabs, pieces of insulation to trade for peanuts. One even brings me empty peanut shells for refills. One looks in my kitchen window in the morning around 6 am and taps on the glass with his tiny feet and waves to get my attention. Also, they lose 20 percent of brain mass over winter and build it back up in spring. That's a trick our medical folk would be well to study for all the cognitive diseases about today.
You have some really nice friends. What a wonderful story, I believe animals have a sense about people and know those that would treat them right. I've had other incidents happened that I might post in the future. If you're up to it I would love to see an update every once in awhile. The idea about refreshing the brain I think has Merit. My son-in-law has MS something like that might be a big help.
My niece who lives in the Bruce north Ontario Canada she has raccoons who come open the screen door and look for food. She can even pat them although they are still wild. She lives in the countryside and has had bears and foxes deer and other animals coming by from time to time
As long as the animals are friendly and not aggressive it's an enjoyable experience. I've always wanted a raccoon as a pet but it never panned out. With me working at the time and raccoons being nocturnal it wasn't a good fit.
We went camping many years ago at state park. It was dark, I was setting on the table bench watching Mark hang up wet swim suit. There was a package of opened Oreo cookies on the table. Out of nowhere this racoon pounces on the table, grabs the cookies and takes off Mark running after him, hollering..bring those back those are mine..lolo so funny,
I would have got a good chuckle out of seeing that, 4 Oreos I would have chased him too. I'm having problems with my phone loading takes a long time don't know if it's the site or my phone.
When my little dog was alive, his favorite pastime was chasing the squirrels that run along the wood fence in our back yard. The squirrels would stop to chatter and taunt him from their perch 6' above him, and sometimes even jump down to streak across the yard. It was like a game almost every day, him chasing and barking, the squirrels chattering. After he died, I swear those squirrels would come looking for him for many days. They'd run up and down the fence, stopping often to stare at the back door and waiting for Harry. Of course, I was in the house waiting to hear his little toenails clicking on the staircase, so we all missed him very much.
I believe dogs and squirrels play a game of catch me. Fun to watch. I know what you mean about missing a dog, I miss my Brandi everyday.
We had a fox terrier the squirrels would taunt like that, running down the tree and across the yard to the other tree, juuuuuust out of reach. One day the dog was just about beside himself. He was gonna get that squirrel. You could feel the resolve. So the squirrel runs down the tree across the yard to the other tree, with the dog full-tilt on his tail. The squirrel ran up the other tree and the dog kept accelerating. *BAM!* Head-on into the tree at full-speed. The dog must have bounced back 6 feet and just sat there for a while, trying to figure out what happened.
John, I can picture that happening especially with a fox terrier they are very determined Hunters. My first dog when I was about eight was part Fox Terrier. We were told back then that they were one of the best "ratters", I believe it. Having problems with my phone I think, it's taking a long time load and unload.
We had moles on our property..lots of them. That dog would tear up their tunnels, sticking his bottom jaw in the hole and his upper jaw on top, ripping up yard upon yard leaving a labyrinth of ditches in his wake. And he would eventually get them. I won't go into details about that last part. Let's just say that all that work did not tire him out...it got him worked into an even deeper lather.
John, They have and amazing sniffer. I could use one right now I think I have moles in the back of my property. I really like those kind of stories they kind of make my day.
Chipper loved squirrels, too, but he didn’t chase them. We had one squirrel that would come right up to the window, and Chipper was just inside. Bobby made a little feeder, and we would open the window and set out the peanuts, and along would come the squirrel, with Chipper waiting just inside the window to see the squirrel. He would pat the window with his paw, and the squirrel knew that he was safe outside the window. We used to have a picture of the two of them, but it got lost in one of the old computer crashes. Just wanted to share with you, @Beth Gallagher , that it has really helped me to have Poodle. When I lost Chipper, it was like losing a child, I loved him so much. Nothing can ever replace him in my heart; but after about a year, I realized that besides just missing my Chipper, I also missed just having a sweet little dog to cuddle and pet, so I started looking for an adult dog to adopt. Having Poodle sleeping in my lap and at my feet in the bed at night helps me a lot, and meets a need that I have to fight the loneliness of not having my Fuzzy Kid in my life. It is something that you might give thought to. There are a lot of little adult dogs that need homes and love.
I'm always amazed when they say different animals they don't get along yet you find them getting along and enjoying each others company. When we lost Brandi, I was upset for months. I had this terrible feeling of guilt because we had to put her to sleep to this day I'm not sure that there wasn't a solution for her, she was 125 lb but was my baby. About nine months after she passed we found the rescue dog in South Carolina where in New York. We Believe she was lost from the major hurricane that they had down there I can't remember its name. She's about 75 lb but the most gentle dog I have ever owned, my grandkids ages 3, 5, & 6, will sit on her tail, her head, her back and she never complains she just keeps licking them. Anybody she knows comes to the door she picks up one of her toys and brings it to them as a gift. She's different than Brandi, but I love her just as much.