Tutankhamun the Squirrel

Blog, Other Animals, Squirrels | September 21, 2010

Approaching the office  to give Tutankhamun his breakfast, Barette, our gorgeous iridescent black rooster is basking on the doorstep in the early morning sun. His favorite place. I say excuse me as he moves aside to let me in the door. He has his dignity and needs his recognition. I really should have said good morning first – courtesy counts.

Tutankhamun was found on the ground stretched long and thin and cold. A kind person brought him home, gave him fluids in the night and brought him to us the next day. He was very weak and dehydrated but he did make an effort to  eat. We put him on a hot water bottle and let him snuggle in the soft red cloth he had come in. The second evening we were gone a few hours and when we got back the water bottle had cooled. When I picked him up he was so cold and unmoving we thought he was dead. Our hearts just sank. He had been so weak we half expected the end. But to our relief and delight there was a heart beat and as we warmed him he began to move. And eat!  Since he was unable to warm himself even in a cozy nest in a heated room, we kept an eagle eye on that hot water bottle from then on. For days he continued to be very weak, sleeping, and only waking when being picked up for feeding. We consulted nutritionists; worried; wished he would show more vitality. Then…what is that old saying – be careful what you wish for? We watched in always new amazement as the brain connections were made and consciousness increased. We now have an extremely lively, demanding little being on our hands.

It took a while before we found a name for him – it had to fit. Driving down the road Tutankhamun popped into my thoughts. Boyking. It felt right – a large name for a large spirit in a small body. And given how demanding he now is asserting his rights, perhaps I was sensing the future.

After feeding Tuttle ( there are formal names and nick-names)  I went to check on Teton Totem the grizzly bear. As he lumbered over to greet me I reflected that what struck me more than the rather dramatic size difference was the commonality of the life force. Because one is much larger doesn’t mean it wants to live more or that the life force is stronger. Or that we should consider it to be more important. I am quite sure that is what Tuttle would say.

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