A heartwarming story has surfaced about how a family in Finland adopted and raised an injured red squirrel they found and lived with it for 6 years.
Priami, a user on reddit, shared some photos of the little critter and explained how they found it. The user’s grandmother had thought it was dead at first, but when it showed signs of life as she tried to move it off the road, she handed it over to Priami for safe-keeping. They tried to release it, but it was incapacitated by its blindness in one eye, so they kept it and name it Arttu. The squirrel lived with them from 2007 to 2013.
For more about their story, read on below!
(h/t: Priami)
The baby squirrel was found injured by the side of a road
“When it seemed like he had recovered, we tried to release him back to the wild but he fell from a tree and hit a rock”
“He survived, but we realized that his eye would never heal completely and he wouldn’t survive on his own”
“His name was Arttu (pretty much the Finnish version of ‘Arthur’)”
“We were very surprised how ‘tame’ he became”
“He liked to have playful ‘fights’ with our hands (you know, like cats do) and he was smart enough not to bite too hard”
“He also liked to take naps in our pockets”
“He even recognized his ‘family’ and became very wary if there were strangers nearby”
“[We fed him] nuts, fruits, berries and mushrooms”
Even when they let him go, he always came back – “He stayed there for a while and then jumped back to my shoulder”
“Squirrel’s claws grow all the time so we had to occasionally cut them because he couldn’t wear them out naturally”
The flash in this photo reveals the glow of his good eye…
…while this one shows his gray and cloudy blind eye
“He died of old age. One morning I found him dead, curled up in his ‘nest’ like he was sleeping”
“We fed other squirrels all the food we had stored for him before he died”
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I agree, it was truly sad the poor squirrel had to go :'(
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Nice sweet story - judging from the dates on his memorial he also lived a nice long life with his adopted family. How rewarding for both.
Greetings My name is Jonathan Demme presently living in France i make a proposal i wish to share with you i dwill brief you more once i hear from you as soon as possible i will like to discuss with you, but not here in email me to (jonathandemmie@gmail.com) With Regards Jonathan Demme
Beautiful story! It must have been amazing to live with him! And you are fantastic people!
What a wonderful life he must have had, My Wife and I have brought up many wild babies, fox, owls, crow, injured snake once.
I loved this story. These people who nurtured this injured baby back to health are lovely kind people.
What a heartwarming story. I don't understand why some animals live such short lives. I am so happy that the right people found this little
They must have kept Arttu in secret because otherwise authorities could have killed him.
I think they had to keep Arttu in secret because in Finland it is forbidden to keep wild animals.
God Blesses those who take the time to care for his critters! I loved the story but sorry he had passed away! he was given a good life!
How adorable. Squirrels can be a menace at bird feeders and so destructive,but Arthur is so cute! What a sweet story of love and caring.
Omg! I didn't like the twist and the end. Sad to hear he already passed. It's awesome you guys gave him a good life after it was injured.
Such a beautiful story. I raised a grey squirrel whose mother had been killed. It was a wonderful experience.
I agree, it was truly sad the poor squirrel had to go :'(
Load More Replies... Nice sweet story - judging from the dates on his memorial he also lived a nice long life with his adopted family. How rewarding for both.
Greetings My name is Jonathan Demme presently living in France i make a proposal i wish to share with you i dwill brief you more once i hear from you as soon as possible i will like to discuss with you, but not here in email me to (jonathandemmie@gmail.com) With Regards Jonathan Demme
Beautiful story! It must have been amazing to live with him! And you are fantastic people!
What a wonderful life he must have had, My Wife and I have brought up many wild babies, fox, owls, crow, injured snake once.
I loved this story. These people who nurtured this injured baby back to health are lovely kind people.
What a heartwarming story. I don't understand why some animals live such short lives. I am so happy that the right people found this little
They must have kept Arttu in secret because otherwise authorities could have killed him.
I think they had to keep Arttu in secret because in Finland it is forbidden to keep wild animals.
God Blesses those who take the time to care for his critters! I loved the story but sorry he had passed away! he was given a good life!
How adorable. Squirrels can be a menace at bird feeders and so destructive,but Arthur is so cute! What a sweet story of love and caring.
Omg! I didn't like the twist and the end. Sad to hear he already passed. It's awesome you guys gave him a good life after it was injured.
Such a beautiful story. I raised a grey squirrel whose mother had been killed. It was a wonderful experience.
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