January 21. Squirrel
Appreciation Day. Yup. A day to celebrate those crazy-fast,
nut-loving, tree-jumping, dog-teasing creatures that seem to live almost all over
the world. There are over 260 species of
the little buggers. And WHO knew – there
are something like 36 breeds of “squirrel dogs.” My human found this website that listed squirrel
dog breeds – many who would be familiar – like Rat Terriers, Jack
Russell Terriers, Fox Terriers, and Airedale Terriers. These would not be a surprise – because we
know that terriers like to hunt for rodents.
The site also listed some hounds – like the Norwegian Elkhound, Redbone
Hound, and Black and Tan Hound – and we know that these guys also like to
hunt. But there were a bunch of breeds I
NEVER heard about - Treeing Tennessee Brindle, Barger Stock Feist, Cajun
Squirrel Dog, Treeing Farm Shepherd and Stephens Cur. Yes.
These breeds apparently ARE real.
You can Google them to see what they look like. The common denominator – they all LOVE
squirrels. And I’m not talking about
having squirrels as pets. Like THIS dog...
Of COURSE it would be Bernese Mountain
Dog. Paxton just watches squirrels. While Frodo and I go ABSOLUTELY MAD if we see
one. Did you know that some squirrels
can jump 20 feet? And some squirrels FLY? Well they glide. Talk about how to make a PON’s head explode –
let them see a flying squirrel!
Remember how my human got that fancy
cool new squirrel-proof bird feeder for Christmas? Well guess what! Good new-bad news. Good news -the squirrels cannot get in! It works.
Bad news- no birds have come yet either!
And all that seed my human scattered on the ground to attract the birds? Well – the squirrel IS enjoying THAT.
So today take a minute to celebrate
squirrels. If you need some exercise –
go and chase one. Or if you want to
attract one – just act like a nut. Pun
intended. Have a great one!
© Linda Wozniak
That's awesome, Victor, your investigation about squirrels. Wish I saw one, too, today, but then I have to google. Those "squirrel"dogs were interesting too. When Ashie sees a squirrel he just watches it. He is clever enough to know he can't climb trees. But rabbits.. and even deer..
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