Ai Chihuahua! Dog Adopts 4 Baby Squirrels
Motherless Squirrels' Nest Found On Downed Tree Limb

POSTED: 12:16 pm EDT September 7, 2007

LAKE CITY, Fla. -- At first glance, the scene appears normal: a Chihuahua mother appearing to cuddle with her pups as they nurse.

A closer look at the days-old babies reveals they aren't canines, but four tiny squirrels, reported WJXT-TV in Jacksonville.

A Columbia County family said its dog's maternal instinct kicked in when 10-year-old Mimi laid eyes on the baby squirrels.

Mimi took the motherless squirrels in as if they were her own, making for one mix-and-match family.

Their eyes are still closed, but their tails are a dead giveaway that Mimi's babies are squirrels -- three females and one male.

Derek Varnes, who works for a tree-cutting company, said he found the squirrels' nest last week on a downed limb.

"I didn't know what to think. They looked like rats at first," Varnes said. "I wasn't going to leave them. They say after they're out of the nest or the tree, the momma won't mess with them anymore. I wasn't going to let them die."


He gave the squirrels to his fiancee's mother, Jeanette Young.

"My 10-year-old Chihuahua would come and watch me and start whining and carrying on," Young said. "I thought she was going to eat them.

She said that when she eventually put the squirrels down, Mimi started licking them to clean them and then began nursing them.

Young said although Mimi's last litter was born four years ago, the dog is still able to make enough milk to keep the baby squirrels full. Mimi doesn't venture far from her new little ones.

"She don't like for me to touch them either," Young said.

She credited maternal instinct for Mimi's behavior and said the dog is a better mom this time around than with her own puppies four years ago.

"She seems much calmer; she seems like it was just meant for her to have them and take care of them," Young said.

She said a veterinarian told her as long Mimi is able to feed the squirrels, the babies would continue to grow and be healthy.


I'm surprised she didn't eat them

Now that's just plain cute

Did you watch the video? They are so tiny......

I did... they make that dog look like a rottweiler

Is it possible for the squirrels to be domesticated? I have never heard of anybody having one for a pet.

The can easily be tamed but you wouldn't want to fully domesticate them. I knew a lady that used to hand feed her yard squirrels.

I've got a squirrel that will eat out of my hand I've named him Scrat

That was truly heart warming! I wouldn't advise keeping squirrels as pets. They need to be free and jumping through the tree branches. They are beautiful animals though! I hope when they are old enough they are returned to the wild.

I know someone who kept a squirrel for a pet. They had hand fed it as a baby. It had a good life. They let it have full run of the backyard and let him sleep in the house at night. It use to sleep with their dog.