Just after sending last week’s foster care diary column we had big excitement at the house. There is a possibility that this could happen to you and not turn out quite so well, so you need to listen up and pass this information along to all of your friends.

We adopted the use of those tall, wrought-iron shepherd hooks to hang our bird feeders out in the yard. We have a couple that have two sides, joining together in the middle in the shape of a V. Well, one of the hooks doesn’t have a bad V; however, the one in the front yard comes down into a very narrow V at the bottom. This is where the problem is. Years ago, we had a small bird get her leg caught in the bottom of this V. Unfortunately, Mom wasn’t home at the time. When she did arrive home, she found the poor bird with a mangled leg. The bird had died trying to get out of this “trap”. For the longest time, Mom had kept something stuffed down into the V, but as the years went by this piece of wood had fallen out, and, to be honest, Mom really didn’t think something like this could happen again.

However, as I said, just after sending last weeks column, Mom noticed one of our large squirrels “resting” on top of the shepherd’s hook. She attempted to chase him away, but he insisted on staying. Mom noticed that most of the suet was gone, along with the bird seed, so she thought the squirrel was just resting after stuffing himself full. Over an hour passed, and the squirrel was still resting on the top of the pole. Shortly, Aunt Rita’s brother pulled into her driveway, and Mom noticed the squirrel flipping around on the top of the pole, desperately trying to get down. That is when Mom realized what had happened. On closer inspection from the front window, she realized that the squirrel had jammed two of his front toes in the deep part of the V.

After trying to free the squirrel herself with a broomstick pushing on his toes, Mom realized she needed help. Obviously, the squirrel was healthy and not sick. He was just simply stuck. A call to a friend quickly brought some help in the form of a “professional with a catch pole”. Soon, the little guy, none too happy, was snugly caught in the end of the pole, and Mom had to use the metal tip of a shovel to shove his toes up and out of there!! Once released from the pole, he shot off for the woods, no doubt warning all of his friends and determined not to do that again!! We found no blood or hair on the pole, and he seemed to run just fine, so we’re hoping all is well for the little guy.

In the meantime, our pole has temporarily been fixed with duct tape wrapped around this part of the V until we can find a permanent fix. Mom and our “professional” friend were so happy they were able to set this little guy free, but another one might not be so lucky. Please check your feeders today and alert your friends.