This Animal Lover on Officer's Side, This Time

surely throwing sticks and stones near the squirrel, and shouting, arm waving and chasing would have been better? I do that with the cats that use my garden as a toilet, and I wouldn't DREAM of pepper spraying them. such a small animal to have something so painful used on them. and the effects on small animals aren't really known. it could have killed it. I think there are better ways it could have been driven off.

I once worked where squirrels were continually begging treats from our lunch crowd, & they would come right up & take food from one's fingers. Most of us loved them, though the university considered them pests. I tell you this to let you know, I've over 20 years experience with spoiled rotten squirrels who played at our feet & even in our laps. I also know how to recognize rabid animal behavior, & in no way did this one act rabid. I carefully watched the video, & I'm reasonably certain that this squirrel wasn't rabid, just well-acquainted with humans handing it a treat. It did NOT look as though it were unsteady on its feet, or aggressive (merely tame). I have to disagree with you, as I think the cop over-reacted. The crowd apparently wasn't in fear, & many who were begging him not to spray probably even knew this little guy. I think the cop--with whom I nearly always side!--was in the wrong here, & should just have left it alone. Obviously I'm correct, or the squirrel would not have been released. Also, I'm a bit alarmed that it doesn't say where in "the wild" the squirrel was taken. Squirrels don't move well, being very territorial. I do hope they took it back to its familiar stomping grounds, so it wouldn't be afraid & confused in a strange area, where it doesn't know where it's safe to bolt & hide, where other squirrel colonies might attack it, or anything else untoward could happen to it. Maggiepie "Ye can paint a crow white, but that ain't gonna make it a dove." ~ "Mags," fictional character from author Mercedes Lackey, in "Intrigues"

I think the officer did the right thing too. It could have turned out worse than that. I am an animal lover too and I am not sure what I would have done fi I did not have the thing that the officer used.

I agree with you, the officer did use the most minor way to stop the squirrel from coming to closer. At the same time, I can see myself as one of the girls begging him not to spray the squirrel, only because I can get too emotional where animals are concerned....

Here's some additional info on rabidness in squirrels you should see, from EMed: http://rabies.emedtv.com/rabies/rabies-and-squirrels.html All the more reason I think the cop shouldn't have sprayed the squirrel. Maggiepie "The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It's really thoughtful for the police officer to not cause any other harm to this animal. But this animal can be a potential danger for all students in the high school, cute or not. I dont get how the squrriel got so used to being around humans since the description says that the school is a nut free zone due to allergies though.

If nobody was harmed then alls well that ends well.

hi lilyofthe thorns, i think you might have forgotten me,do not worry,i know you are a animal lover,have you received any award for your dog which you have requested me for vote,western people are very much interested in animals,but not the other people,now a days in cities people love animals as a fashion or status symbol,have a nice day