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Sep012010

Tragedy Strikes In North Austin

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 7:41PM

AUSTIN--An aspiring young Austinite's first day of work/ternship ended in bitter tragedy today. Upon returning to his quiet North Austin home, just on the outskirts of Hyde Park, Nick Hiller, an advertising intern, witnessed a scene he will "never forget." As Mr. Hiller pulled up to his house, "out of the corner of my eye I noticed something falling to the ground. It happened so fast, it seemed like it fell from the large pecan tree in our yard. When I looked back in my rear view mirror I could see it was something alive, and it had fallen on the asphalt and was clearly in trouble. It was flailing about like crazy. I thought it was a baby bird or something." He would soon find out it was a helpless baby squirrel.

The baby squirrel nicknamed 'Squirrely.'

Attempting a daring rescue in the middle of what can occasionally be a busy street, Mr. Hiller brazenly threw himself into oncoming traffic, halting a Honda Civic's collision course with the injured party, while he scooped up the now lifeless ball of fur. "I knew she--I think it was a she, I tried to sex it online--was in trouble when I got to her because she had lost consciouness and urinated on herself," said Mr. Hiller, "but she was still breathing and I figured if I could just get her to an animal rescue, she might have a fighting chance." Mr. Hiller immediately called the Ausitn Wildlife Rescue on East MLK Blvd to inquire about their intake policy. The woman who answered had Mr. Hiller take the squirrel's vitals "she said 'Does she seem hurt? Is there trauma' and I told her that I thought so and that I could see a little bit of blood around the mouth." The woman then told Mr. Hiller that though they do take squirrels, they were unfortunately closing for the day but, if he could keep the animal alive through the night, they would take her first thing in the morning.

"That got me excited, I thought if I could just keep her alive until dawn, Squirrely--that's what I called her because she tricked me into believing she'd make it--Squirrely might be able to pull through," said Mr. Hiller. The rescue worker told Mr. Hiller to put Squirrely in a box and keep her warm. Scouring the house for a suitable bed for his critically injured patient--"I thought to myself 'Do I even have box?'"--Mr. Hiller located an old Topo Chico box inside the recycling bin and hastily stuffed it with yesterday's pile of junk mail, "for insulation." After assembling the makeshift intensive care unit, Mr. Hiller gingerly placed Squirrely onto her bedding of store coupons, wrapping her in a sock for warmth. "She was cute as button," Mr. Hiller said, "but her breathing had become irregular, almost like she was struggling more and more with every breath. I felt like she probably wasn't going to make it." As it turned out Squirrely had only moments left to live.

The ICU Mr. Hiller constructed for Squirrely.

"Shortly after I got Squirrely all tucked in I noticed that she had stopped breathing altogether. I performed chest compressions with one finger to no avail. I was devasted. I thought 'Why God? Why me? Why now? Why Squirrely?'" Mr. Hiller lamented, "but I guess it was just her time. You know my girlfirend said something interesting to me. She reminded me that we have had this pair of squirrels that live in the pecan tree who have been just fighting and fighting with each other. Just the other day we were in the house and we heard a loud thud on the roof. We looked out the window and watched as two squirrels dropped from the roof and went tearing across the yard, one in hot pursuit of the other. Anyway my girlfriend thought that maybe those were Squirrely's parents, and maybe they were having some marital squirrel quarrels, and maybe, just maybe, it was their neglect that caused this whole predicament. Now I don't want to go pointing the finger--who am I to judge--or put the blame on this little lady's parents after their significant loss, but, I will say that it does beg the question, where were this little girl's parents during all this? You know what I mean?"

Squirrely in his final moments.

With that Mr. Hiller takes a long pause and stares off into the waning sunlight, ruminating, no doubt, on the double tragedy that has occured today: the death of a squirrel child and perhaps the death of the squirrel nuclear family. After Squirrely stopped breathing there was nothing for Mr. Hiller to do but to find a proper burial place for his furry friend. Spade in one hand, Squirrely in the other, Mr. Hiller headed to the front yard of his one bedroom postwar which he thought got the best sun. He selected a patch on earth between two cacti, an agave and a prickly pear, that he liked for its proximity to the pecan tree--the squirrel's only home--and the street, where passersby could reflect on Squirrely's passing. The tombstone was picked for its simplicty, a piece of Austin Chalk, and was placed atop the burial mound.

Squirrely's final resting place.

"I hope she'll be happy there, with the sun and the tree and maybe even her parents above him. I just wish I could have helped her more..." and with that Mr. Hiller concludes the interview and walks away, tears welling up at the edges of his eyes.

Squirrely's tombstone. The epitaph will read, 'Here Lies Squirrely, Son, Brother (?), Sister (??), Born, ??? - Died, September 1st, 2010, Never Killed A Man That Did Not Need Killing.'

By MARCO WERMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Reader Comments (4)

Poor poor squirrely, do you think you should call SCS (Squirrely Child Services) in case the parents have more babies that are being slapped about or not nurtured in a proper squirrely way. You are clearly a good man to go the distance with this poor soul in its final hour.

September 2, 2010 |

Juliet

I didn't realize baby squirrels were so large. Jordan and I nursed a dehydrated sparrow once. We gave it gatorade (the internet told us to do it!).

September 3, 2010 |

odessa

Oh my God. I miss Squirrely, and I never even met her. She's so sickeningly precious...like "Precious" (the movie based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, if you're unaware).

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