The Wildlife Rescue Center located in the state of Missouri each year responds to over 20,000 requests to help sick, injured, and orphaned native animals. This time the animal care team had to work against the clock since the case was very unusual and dangerous.
A tiny squirrel was trying to escape a construction site when he accidentally jumped into wet spray foam. Covered from head to toe in the sticky substance, the little guy was about to turn into stone if not for the worker who rushed to help him.
More info: The Wildlife Rescue Center
A construction worker in Missouri saved a little squirrel that was covered from head to toe in wet spray foam
It was a casual day at the construction site when a contractor in Missouri came to work and suddenly spotted some unexpected furry guests scurrying around his station.
Before starting his work and opening a new can of wet spray foam, the man ushered a family of squirrels to a safe place – right after that, he shook the bottle and aimed the nozzle into a gap before releasing a spray of resin-based foam. Little did he know that there was one stray squirrel left behind.
Trying to escape, the little guy, unfortunately, jumped right into the wet, sticky substance.
The once cute and fluffy squirrel now was covered from head to toe in wet foam that was about to dry like concrete.
Understanding how dangerous the situation was, the contractor rushed to help the little one by removing as much foam as possible and then immediately brought the squirrel to the Wildlife Rescue Center (MWRC).
The man acted very quickly, removing as much foam as possible before bringing the squirrel to the Wildlife Rescue Center
There was still lots of foam left when the squirrel finally arrived at MWRC, but the man’s quick reaction made a very big difference. Now the rescue team only had to decide how to remove the rest.
“At the Center, the animal care team worked against the clock to carefully remove the foam using cotton swabs and vegetable oil before it fully hardened,” MWRC explained in their announcement on social media. “They started by clearing his mouth and nose to secure his airway, moved on to gentle flushing and cleansing of his eyes, and finally clearing away any debris that would restrict bodily functions and movement.”
On that first day, they took out as much foam as they could using some pain medication and a mild sedative to calm the little guy, then gave him some fluids and a calm cozy corner to spend the night.
By the next day, the squirrel was finally foam-free and despite painful damage to his skin and huge fur loss, the animal was already looking way better.
It took a couple more weeks of careful medical care, warm shelter and food, and the squirrel was strong enough to go back home.
The MWRC team released him into a safe location with plenty of natural habitat.
After a few weeks, the squirrel was still on the road to recovery, yet already looked much better
Squirrels are known for their playful and curious nature, therefore they probably entered the construction area seeking shelter or looking for food. Since humans are occupying more and more space that used to be their natural habitat, wild animals are often trapped in dangerous situations.
Thankfully, this little furry guy met a nice human being who saved his life right before it was too late.
People on the internet wished the little guy recovery as fast as possible
