A baby squirrel got another chance at life after a girl rescued the animal from the historic South Carolina floods, which killed 15. Sarah Scruggs, 27, found the baby squirrel in a puddle in Columbia October 4 after the state experienced massive rainfall and flooding, and is now nursing it back to health.
“I had gone out to see what damage there was in the neighborhood and I walked by and saw something,” Scruggs told ABC News. “There was a little baby squirrel not moving but bubbling and sitting underwater.”
Scruggs wrapped the animal in a hoodie for warmth and started feeding it Pedialyte for the first half of the day before transitioning to puppy formula, she said.
“Nothing made for puppies or kittens is perfect for a squirrel’s needs but it will do for now,” Scruggs said.
Based on the squirrel’s little teeth and disinterest in solid food, and on Scruggs’s experience with many kinds of wildlife, Scruggs believes that this squirrel is between five and six weeks old.
Although Scruggs admits that the squirrel she named Arthur is adorable, and that it’s hard to resist playing with the “curious” creature, she doesn’t plan on keeping it.
“I want him to be able to jump and climb and have squirrel buddies,” Scruggs said. “I’m hoping he will transition back to his habitat well.”