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.
When Cantlon took in the tiny creature and began caring for him, she found herself with an unlikely nurse’s aide: her pregnant Papillion, Mademoiselle Giselle.
Finnegan was resting in a nest in a cage just days before Giselle was due to deliver her puppies.
Cantlon and her husband watched as the dog dragged the squirrel’s cage twice to her own bedside before she gave birth.
Cantlon was concerned, yet ultimately decided to allow the squirrel out and the inter-species bonding began.
Finnegan rides a puppy mosh pit of sorts, burrowing in for warmth after feeding, eventually working his way beneath his 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.
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.
Finnegan and his new litter mates, five Papillion puppies, get along together as if they were meant to.
Finnegan naps after feeding.
Finnegan makes himself at home with his new litter mates, nuzzling nose-to-nose for a nap after feeding.
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wow thats so cute! i didn’t know dogs ‘n squirrels could do that!
very nice post!
That made me smile real big!
Oh my God, that is the absolute cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!! I have to show my kids, they won’t believe it. And to think I’m scared of squirrels, rofl. I tried to stumble you but I think you already have been so I left a review. Absolutely amazing!! Oh and I’m giving you an award over at my Writer’s review blog, I’m making up the post now. Have a great day!
Thanks Christy! I will come pick it up soon.
What more expression left! To show the unity, companion, unique affection! lively picturised the Love!
That is amazing, they’re so lovely!
Lovely and sweet!
oh my goodness so cute i wish i had a pet squirl!
wow my dog just eats them
ROFLMAO…what cute pictures!
Sadly, I would never be able to get my Pomeranians to pose with a squirrel…not even if I bribed them!
Dawn
Really cute. Lovely post!
Now, if only we humans could learn to do this…….Beautiful. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words.
That is adorable! =D
Humans have to learn from other species. They are not racists, they love each other!
very nice feelwarm photos. we can learn many lessons to make life easier from the innocent ones.
Such a nice little touching story; moved me almost to tears of joy. We got so much to learn from God’s wonderful creatures and rid this world of all the hatred and cruelty and suffering, especially for all those poor animals out there.
I do wonder how the squirrel will fair back outdoors after having been cared for outside of its own natural upbringing.. I’m going to guess it probably thinks it’s a dog o.o Hopefully being outside doesn’t freak it out
Given the way my dogs go nuts when they catch the scent of a squirrel, I don’t think this would work in my house..
Makes me remember my old pet squirrel I saved. Mr. Chopsly. That fucker could bite a stick in half!
I used to have a pet squirrel also. He didn’t have a cool name like Mr. Chopsly… he was simply known as “Squirrely”.
He would go into his cage each night, and I would shut the door. I forgot to do that once and the cat ate him. Damn cat.
What a cool story and pics. I found it through StumbleUpon.
I rehabilitated a squirrel here at the hospital last year and I admit I got a little teary eyed watching him run up and down the tree when he was released. I called him Elmo. Only 1 toe survived on his rear foot injury.
I would be concerned about releasing an animal that has been assimilated to the scent and habits of dogs. Cute as this is, I would predict the little rodent may loose its life learning that not all dogs are friendly
It scares me to know you will release him to the wild. Unless he is totally a bother, I would allow him to stay. I have known other people with squirrels to litter train them. I have had chinchilla’s and they were litter trained. I just fear that some outside dog will eat him and my cats have killed more than their share around my house. Good Luck!
I love squirrels! Wish I could raise a pet one.
The puppies are adorable too. I just love seeing an animal from one species nurturing another. It’s really adorable when a huge dog does it with a tiny kitten. See, we really all CAN get along! 
lovely post! i have two papillons myself and enjoyed this story very much. i am curious though…after you saw how well the squirrel and puppies bonded, did you still release him into the wild?
That is great, one big happy family
This is too cute! I have papillons and collect “squirrel” things so this is perfect for me.
Very touching and cute. I am concerned about the squirrel now being used to people and dogs;
the squirrel is now domesticated. He may not be able to fend for himself if released and may
want to come back into the house. I don’t know if it’s necessary to “release him into the wild”.
Perhaps you could just keep him as a pet? You could try taking the squirrel outside with you and
see how it reacts. You could leave a door or window open for him if he wants to come back into your home. The squirrel may already feel that your home is his home. I applaud you for saving him. You obviously love animals and know how to take care of them and we need more people like you.
Thank you for sharing the pictures.
Oh my….
SO cute! I love how he is part of the puppy piles sometimes too! The puppies hardly seem to notice that he isn’t one of them… Just adorable!
Those puppies are the cutest things!!
I thought it was sweet….Gotta go! The squirrels are watching!
That is absolutely ADORABLE!!!!
Very cute pictures of dogs accepting a squirrel.
Don’t mean to be a party pooper here, but don’t dogs kill small animals, squirrels? My neighbor’s dog killed a few of my bunnies when I was a kid.
i think that is the cutest thing i have saw in a long time
What a load of bull.
These animals have clearly been tortured, murdered, disembowled, stuffed then positioned in ridiculously sappy poses.
Shame on you!
Very cute
Really? I ahve not thought like that….still confused !!
OMG! This is amazing! Stumbled it already!
That was good stuff, definitely SU material!
I don’t mean to kill “the mood” but those pictures are AMAZING! They must have been taken with a 10 mega pixel (plus) camera! But aside from that, that’s pretty remarkable that the mother would just take it in.
If you do by any chance know which camera took these pictures I would appreciate it if you let me know. Thanks anyway!
Cha-Cha’s last blog post..Add-ons
I live with humans, so I know how it is to be a domesticated squirrel
Mr. Ilarijs’s last blog post..Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris
Thanks for sharing these marvelous pictures. Nature is so amazing!
That is so AWESOMELY BEAUTIFUL!
God made the mistake of giving us, Humans, a brain that discerns such that, we hang ourselves out to dry!!!
That’s unbelievable and so devastatingly cute!
Looking at these Sweet Pictures again, I am still awed by the blindness animals have to each other when in birth…how they can take in a helpless animal nothing like them….this Mama Pup is the epitome of unconditional Love… as Human Being with all kinds of biases…I am reminded that if I look inside of me for a part that is not connected to the rest…I can’t find it…so I can see just a little how the body of Planet Earth is the Same…everything and everyone in the bodyPlanet…are connected period…some of us can see and feel that connection… I like to focuss everyday on that thought and go inside and feel that connection…in hopes that somehow that contributes to InnerPeace in Me and InnerPeace in all…Peace.