(By Little Jackie)
I was born in a nest near a house with a big, furry animal I later learned was a German Shepherd named Raini. When I was big enough to leave the nest, I explored this monster’s territory.
The first day, it went smoothly. She never even noticed me! The next day, I wasn’t so lucky. She caught me by my tail! Luckily, there was this human nearby, and she grabbed a yummy smelling jar to distract the dog. After taking a few minutes to recover, I was off. However, I couldn’t resist. I went back again, trying to find out what was on the other side of the yard. I was caught again! This time, Raini dropped me HARD. It really hurt my leg. But the humans were there. I was happy that they offered me water in a little bottle cap, even though I wasn’t thirsty. The two bigger humans, Mom and Dad, went to figure out what to do with me, while the smaller one, Isabella, stayed behind to watch me. She even gave me my name–Little Jackie! Then Mom and Dad returned and put me in a box. They put the box in the car and Dad drove me off to someplace called a “wildlife center.” I recovered and was soon released. For a while, I came back to where I was born. Raini saw me a couple of times, and barked, but I didn’t care! After all, I was in another yard! Not wanting to run got me the nickname Cheeky Squirrel. After that, I found a new home. But that wasn’t all I’d see of Isabella. This year, it was very warm early in the year in Michigan. So the humans all did summer things. Like riding bikes, or even go-carts–which is what Isabella did. She came to the park where I live now and rode it around one of those circle things that cars use to turn around. She saw me, stopped the cart, and walked over to me. I greeted her in the friendliest way a squirrel can–by not running away! Then, someone had dropped some nuts near the road, so Isabella gave me some. After that, I went on my way, but I know I’ll see her again.
Raini's Tails 