Squirrel nuts

August 13, 2006 at 12:32 am (Uncategorized)

I totally dig squirrels. Call them over-educated rats if you want to, but I learned to respect the critters as a child when I hunted them with BB guns. You could knock one of those suckers right out of a tree, he’d hit the ground 60 feet below, and get up running. Tenacious, high-spirited and sly. I like that in a backyard dweller. Plus, they always look like they know something about you, don’t they? You stare at one, he’ll pause in his acorn munching and stare back in that sidelong way. Squirrels are cool. Even mean ones. I secretly mourn every time AO kills one and then tosses them in her pool. We’re not buying that suicide bit, AO.

Residents in Winter Park, Fla., are angered over the city’s response to a squirrel that attacked at least seven people this month, according to a report. The squirrel attacks happened at Winter Park’s Central Park over the last several days.

A 3-year-old boy was bitten by the animal several times and has a two-inch wound on his leg, according to the report. Another child was reportedly bitten on his calf and a man sitting on a park bench was attacked by the squirrel. He suffered a bite and scratches on his arm. The attacks took place between August 1 and August 4. Some people now say the attacking animal should have been captured sooner. One citizen said he captured the squirrel under a bucket after it attacked his friend. He said he released the squirrel when county animal-services workers failed to arrive after two hours. City employees captured the animal this week. Winter Park received notice from the Florida Department of Health Epidemiology stating that the results on the squirrel were negative for rabies.