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Longlease Bernese Mountain Dogs Gallery of Friends



"Finnegan" the Squirrel


Here is a great story for all us animal lovers
with thanks to Lynne Fitzgerald for sending this.



Debbie aand the Squirrel

For about as long as she can remember, Debby Cantlon says, friends and strangers have brought her animals in need. So it wasn't much of a surprise when someone asked her if she'd care for a newborn squirrel found at the base of a tree somewhere near Renton.


Squirrel on the bottle

Debby Cantlon, who plans to release Finnegan, the young squirrel, back into the wild, bottle-fed the infant squirrel after it was brought to her house. Cantlon, who has cancer, says rescuing injured animals is therapeutic for her.


Finnegan and Giselle

When Cantlon took in the tiny creature and began caring for him, she found herself with an unlikely nurse's aide: her pregnant Papillon, Mademoiselle Giselle.


Finnegan and Giselle

Finnegan was resting in a nest in a cage just days before Giselle was due to deliver her puppies.


Squirrel in at the birth

Cantlon and her husband watched as the dog dragged the squirrel's cage to her own bedside before she gave birth.



Finnegan makes new friends

Cantlon was concerned, yet ultimately decided to allow the squirrel out and the inter-species bonding began


inter-species bonding

Finnegan rides a puppy mosh pit of sorts, burrowing in for warmth after feeding, and eventually working his way beneath his new litter mates.



Finnegan and new litter mates

Two days after giving birth, mama dog Giselle allowed Finnegan to nurse; family photos and a videotape show her encouraging him to suckle alongside her litter of five pups.


Giselle allowed Finnegan to nurse

Now, Finnegan mostly uses a bottle, but still snuggles with his "siblings" in a mosh pit of puppies, rolling atop their bodies and sinking in deeply for a nap.



Fiinegan snuggles with his "siblings"

Finnegan and his new litter mates, five Papillion puppies, get along together as if they were meant to.


Finnegan and his new litter mates, five Papillion puppies

Finnegan naps after feeding.


nuzzling nose-to-nose for a nap after feeding.

Finnegan makes himself at home with his new litter mates, nuzzling nose-to-nose for a nap after feeding.


"Life is a precious gift. Don't waste it being unhappy, dissatisfied, or anything less than you can be." "Too often are we so preoccupied with the destination, we forget the journey."




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