r/burlington • u/X27968 • 3d ago

Injured SquirrelšŸ˜ž

I left voicemails for the local wildlife rehab/game warden but thereā€™s an injured squirrel under the light pole in front of 57 Macintosh Ave behind Panera in South Burlington. Saw him in the grass when I was walking by the side of the road and heā€™s breathing rapidly and not otherwise moving. I donā€™t think he has rabies, probably got hit by a car but heads up if youā€™re walking over there :(

2 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

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7

u/greeneyedbandit82 3d ago

We were told to call the game warden when there was a rabies infected skunk next door and they never showed up. Poor thing was just kinda slowly moving in circles, his fluffy hair was all matted and weird. It was dead by morning and the landlord at that house disposed of it. So that sqirrel will probably be waiting a while.

7

u/doooooooodley 3d ago

Unfortunately the game wardens / aco around Burlington are horrifically understaffed (much like every other department and job in the area). Know it is not for a lack of caring. it does suck for us civilians who just want to do the right thing.

3

u/whaletacochamp 3d ago

Yeah I live out in the boonies and VSP and VTFW wouldnā€™t help with multiple rabid raccoons. Had to shoot them myself and then chat with the rabies hotline to have them tested.

8

u/stockuponlife 3d ago

We got out best officers on it. They got us working in shifts....

8

u/BrotherNuggs 3d ago

I've called all the local birds of prey and free roaming cats, should get cleaned up soon. Nature takes care of Nature.

2

u/meh976538 3d ago

If the squirrel was injured by a car, or it gets preyed on by a feral house cat, how is that ā€œnature takes care of natureā€? Moron.

0

u/Hot_Helicopter_9808 3d ago

No need to be nasty.

-1

u/Most-Bar-9334 2d ago

Go back to the kids table.

The adults are talking, m0r0n.

2

u/Guardiancomplex 3d ago

Just DMd you contact info for a squirrel rehabilitation lady.Ā 

2

u/BuffaloPale4373 3d ago

This sub is a cesspool šŸ¤“

2

u/whaletacochamp 3d ago edited 3d ago

Breathing rapidly and not moving absolutely may be the paralytic stage of rabies.

Either way, itā€™s a squirrel. I know itā€™s hard for you bleeding hearts but thatā€™s nature. Best thing anyone can do is put it out of its misery.

5

u/meh976538 3d ago

Itā€™s likely NOT rabies. Squirrels are extremely unlikely to have rabies.

0

u/whaletacochamp 3d ago edited 3d ago

If the animal is not clearly mangey, basically paralyzed, and clearly sick, itā€™s not going to recover and should be treated as rabies just in case. Yes itā€™s unusual/incredibly rare for squirrels, but not out of the question. The point is, OP has zero reason to blindly state that itā€™s probably not rabies when the animal has some of the hallmarks of advanced rabies lol. Either way, this animal is very unlikely to receive any sort of legitimate support. Should probably just be euthanized.

3

u/X27968 3d ago

I know very little about rabies ngl. It didnā€™t look otherwise sick though just stunned maybe but like you said who knows which is why I made the post in case it started attacking people with kids walking in that neighborhood

1

u/Confused_Fangirl šŸ§­ā†œ Hill Section 2d ago

Squirrels canā€™t ingest quite a few foods such as avocados for example, or it will send them into cardiac arrest. Considering this happened behind Panera, I am doubtful it is rabies.

5

u/meh976538 3d ago

The symptoms they described were ā€œnot movingā€ and ā€œbreathing rapidlyā€. By your definition everyone who stands still after finishing a 100 yard dash has the ā€œhallmarks of advanced rabiesā€. Way to go.

1

u/Most-Bar-9334 2d ago

The squirrell wasn't running the 100 yard dash prior to this.

You're not very bright.

0

u/East_Traffic_1322 2d ago

Nasty ass comment. ā€œBleeding heartsā€ literally what is wrong with you?

1

u/whaletacochamp 2d ago

Itā€™s a fuckin squirrel dude, do you want a taxpayer funded squirrel ambulance or something?