One Beautiful Life

Chipmunk Rescue

Hopefully, I do not have to remind you of my PASSIONATE love for animals.  Tuesday was a very traumatic day for a baby chipmunk in my back yard and of course, I had to come to the rescue!

We had just had a WONDERFUL play date at a friend's house.  I walked inside my kitchen and glanced out the window to see the neighbor's cat in our backyard "sitting" in the grass in the sun.  The cat is always in our back yard and so I just thought, "Aw... how sweet" and went on with my business. 

WELL!  Just moments later, as I walked by the kitchen window again, something caught my eye and I flew to the window for a better look.  There was this tiny little thing... crawling, so slowly, away from the cat as it just sat there and watched.  Then it hit me!  "Oh ---- NO!"  I yelled.  Yes.  It was a reference to the bad place.  I then RAN outside and across my yard to see that the little thing was a tiny little baby chipmunk and the FURY boiled inside of me as I envisioned this cat tormenting it in my back yard for who knows how long!  I grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck and "gently" tossed it over the fence back into it's yard and started yelling for my husband (my hero).  The cat was trying to make his way back into my yard and I was trying to figure out how to get this little baby to safety.  My man came out and helped me keep the cat at bay (and the dog who was now hopping all around the yard thinking it was playtime).  "Get it!" my husband proclaimed, as it started heading right for the fence where it's attacker was waiting on the other side.  The poor thing was sopping wet where the cat had been licking it and had a little scratch under it's left eye.  It was trying so hard to get away.  "What if it bites me?" I yell back.  "It's a baby, it won't bite you!"  So... I gently grabbed it right as it headed into the yard of the killer!

My heart was pounding.  The poor little thing was trembling in my hands and so I pulled it close and started talking to it, soothing it, and petting it.  (probably terrifying it all the more)  I headed to the house... trying to figure out where to put it.  When I got into the kitchen, the girls were all about this precious thing and, of course, wanted to pet it.  I let them pet it's head and I guess it was too much stimulation and so it chomped down on my finger!  What did you say about baby chipmunks not biting!  Man it hurt!  It chomped down... held it for about 4 seconds (seemed like about 20) and then let go.  "AWWWW... it bit me!"  "Get it outside!" replies my man.  Yeah... both hands on the munk... need some help here with the door!  :0)

So my man opens the door to the garage and helps me get the tiny little treasure into a box.  My finger is dripping blood pretty good... Abby is wailing in the kitchen because she thinks I am hurt (I was), and Brenda is wanting to know what's going on and where are we going!  No time for translation here!

Don and I get on the golf cart and head to some woods to let our baby go.  "Can we keep him?" I ask several times.  "No," Don replies.  "Please, can we keep him, he's hurt, he's a baby, he needs us."  "No.  He's wild."

My mind calmed down and I realize he would be very unhappy living in a box or cage.  So I stopped asking.  We found a spot and let him go and the poor thing wobbled off.  We stayed with him for about ten minutes, trying to get him to go into the woods.  He was heading in the direction of a road and so I had to stop him.  I couldn't save him to just have him smashed by a car!  So I was petting him (he was so tired) and telling him he was ok and how precious he was and he buried his little head into some straw... I thought I was going to cry.  I got him turned around and he ran up into the woods.  My precious husband, who was so patient and loving with me through my rescue efforts, was now ready for us to leave.

Back at the house I worried about that thing for hours.  I wasn't even the least bit mad he bit me.  I prayed for him about every five minutes.  Then when it was time to make dinner, I couldn't concentrate and so I piled the kids into the golf cart to go and see if I could see him.  "What if his little home was in our backyard and I drug him off to some random woods and what if he was trying to make his way back!  What if a hawk got him!  What if he wandered into another yard, all weak, and was gotten by someone else's PET!"  It was driving me crazy.

God is SO SWEET!  He knows my heart (He gave it to me) and He gave me the sweetest gift.  We went back to the spot where we left him and there he was, all dried out, MUCH more stable, and digging around for food.  I was so happy I almost cried again.  As we watched him, he saw us and scurried up a little hill.  He was only a tad bit wobbly.... so much better!  So we watched him as long as we could.  The kids ooooeed and awwwed and we said another prayer for his protection through the night and for complete healing.

I was then able to make dinner.  And I said about another ten prayers for him as I went to sleep.  Everytime I pass that spot, I look for him, but he is not there anymore.  I am SURE he has found a new safe place and is almost back to normal.

I have decided the cat can not be in my yard anymore and have vowed to run him off with the water hose anytime I see him there.  So far it's been twice.  This was his second offense in my backyard as I saved a beautiful blue lizard from him just five or six nights before.  He also scares off my birds and we just had our first hummingbird.  I try to make our yard a sanctuary for God's precious creatures and so the cat is going to have to be a cat somewhere else!

Note:  the cat was not harmed when he was "gently" tossed over the fence! :0)

I feel a tad bit bad as I like this cat, and I don't like cats!  I have wrapped this cat in a blanket when it was snowing, fed it when it was way skinny, held it and loved on it (and I don't like cats) and have been amazed that I like it.  AND I know he is just being a cat... as God created him.  BUTTTTTTT- He can't be a cat in my back yard anymore!

I was thinking that night, about all the animals I have rescued... many turtles, several birds, a baby chicken, lizards, bees and wasps (from the screen porch) lots of bugs, and now a chipmunk!  I had a vision of me getting to heaven and getting my little cottage... and there in my back yard, will be all the animals I have loved and rescued... given back to me by my loving Father.  And my dogs will be there too.  It made me smile and feel so much happiness and warmth.  I can't wait to keep adding to my collection!

Note:  My mom pointed out to me that animals very well could be in heaven... The Lord does return on a horse!  I believed it all along.