Monday, October 27, 2008

Brief Update on Jesse

"Who Would You Do" can be found here.

Wow, yesterday was very interesting.

Mom and I were heading out to go run errands on Sunday while light of my life was hanging out with the neighborhood "gang". It was a beautiful day and while mom was getting ready to leave, I decided to take Jesse out of his cage and let him get some fresh air outside.

In the past when I've gotten him out, I always gently toss him to the grass so he could get use to the outdoors in case he decides to ever leave us.

Normally when I do this, he immediately starts making a beeline for my feet so he can crawl up my body to perch on my shoulder like a little parrot (he appears to have some sort of identity crisis...where do you go to get squirrels some psychiatric help?).

This time, he just stood there for the longest time. I started to slowly approach him when he all of a sudden took off like a shot...in the opposite direction! He ran about 5 feet up the large oak tree we have in our yard.

He circled it a couple of times and then came to me and crawled up my arm. However, as we approached the house, he scampered down my body and crawled up another tree. ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!!!

Now, I had been seeing signs of restlessness in him for the past two weeks or so. He had been doing flips in his cage and when I would take him out, he was all crazy like running up and down my body and scrabbling on my neck and shoulders. I knew something was going on with him but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

Now I know. He was wanting his freedom.

So, with a sad yet happy heart, I wished him good luck and we left to run our errands. Before we left, I brought his cage outside and left it open, just in case he decided to come back.

When we came back from running our errands, I immediately went to the tree where I saw him last and couldn't find him anywhere. I walked the perimeter of the yard looking for a squirrel carcass (we have several dogs that roam loosely between three houses and they're not exactly known as humane dogs when it comes to animals smaller than themselves) and looking up in trees but didn't see any signs of Jesse.

We went on with our evening. We ate dinner, watched Amazing Race and Cold Case. While light of my life was in her bath, mom took Max outside to let him do his bidness when she came running in saying "It's Jesse, he's back. Max has him treed."

Sure enough, when I went outside and went to the tree where Max was frantically circling, there he was. He was low down enough that I could reach him if I raised my arms up. He sniffed my fingers and let me pet him but wasn't exactly coming to me with open arms if you know what I mean.

I stood there for another couple of minutes and he eventually walked into my hands and up to my shoulder (see, there's that parrot complex again) and nuzzled my ear.

I got some fresh bedding for his cage and a new bowl of food. He greedily ate his sunflower seeds and then snuggled in for the night.

Light of my life had been very understanding when I told her that Jesse had decided to leave us (she got that panicked look in her eye when I told her I had to talk to her about Jesse....poor thing has experienced so many people and animals dying in the past year) but lit up when I told her that he came back!

I've decided that for now, I'm just going to keep him in the cage during the day while I'm at work and when I get home, I'll let him go and we'll see if he keeps coming back.

I'm not gonna force the issue either way. We'll just let it happen organically.

In other news, Max is fattening up quite nicely. I can still feel his ribs when I run my fingers down his sides, but his little belly is filling out and fat has settled in that area on his back to where his spine isn't so sharp. He's starting to get playful with us and is pretty much housebroken. We haven't had an accident in over a week. He's real good about letting us know when he wants/needs to go outside. Of course, any time the door is opened, he thinks its an invitation to go outside. But, that's all right. He comes right back when you call him, so it's not a problem yet.

Anything interesting happen to any of you this weekend?

Later,

11 really cool people who give a rat's patootie:

Pseudo

I love the Jesse story. It reminds me of living with teenagers. Teens want their freedom, but come running back for food and a warm bed. But teenagers also want money and parents' car with their "freedom."

Bijoux

We have a love/hate relationship with the squirrels in our yard, so it's always fun to hear about Jesse.

Lump

awww this is a sweet story. it's amazing how creatures actually do take a liking to us. Jesse definitely has to you. :)

Rhea

I'm glad Jesse is starting to want to climb trees and flex his wings, so to speak. he's just adorable.

I'm glad Max is settling in also.
You're Mama Dawgdolittle.

Our weekend was filled with mother-in-law visiting, football and soccer games and a sick child who threw up a bunch. He's better now and both boys are home today from school as it is parent-teacher conference day. They just got flu shots at the doctor and I have a conference for Remy at 1:30pm.

Fun stuff, huh?! hehe

Jess

I so want me a Jesse!

Let's see...I partied with my lil bro in Jacksonville and got shit pants drunk at a gay bar...ahhh, good times! :)

scargosun

You have the greatest instincts when it comes to animals. :) My only worry is that Jesse might not be ready for the winter b/c he hasn't been doing a lot of gathering of provisions.

Mama Dawg

Scargosun-yeah, I thought of that. That's why if I let him go, I'll keep a basketful of acorns and sunflower seeds on my front porch. However, since it's supposed to be terribly cold tonight, I might not let him out when I get home. We'll see. Thanks for the compliment.

Captain Dumbass

We now have fish. All of them are named 'Sharky.' It's a little confusing.

Momo Fali

I had a migraine all weekend, so the only thing interesting was that I got to take a lot of vicodin.

I had a "pet" squirrel when I was in high school. I loved that little guy! He was eventually hit by a car, so I hope you have better luck than I did!

Wendy

Aw! I hope he turns out to be a house squirell! I know you love him. What's really beautiful though, is that you love him enough to let him go if that's what he wants. {{hugs!}}

steenky bee

Phew! I saw the post title "Update on Jessie" followed right by "Who would you do?" I got a little nervous. I mean, I just never thought this was THAT kind of site.

If you love something set it free. If it comes back it is yours. If it doesn't it's probably because your dog treed it.

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