As two teenage boys walked through their neighborhood, they spotted a crowd gathered around a car.
Curious, they approached to see what had caught everyone’s attention, but what they saw was unlike anything they had ever witnessed before.
An animal appeared to be frozen, unable to move.
Jaydon Pettipas and Aidan Hart, friends from Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, were the ones to make this unusual discovery, according to CBC. Little did they know, by the end of the day, their quick actions would earn them hero status.
The boys were determined to find out what had captured everyone’s attention, and as they got closer, they saw a squirrel trapped beneath a car, covered in foam insulation. It looked like the animal was in serious distress.
“There was nothing recognizable about it,” said Jaydon, 15.
Realizing the animal needed help, the boys rushed into a nearby store and grabbed a small milk container to put the squirrel in, though they weren’t sure what to do next. The situation was urgent, and no one in the crowd seemed to have any answers.
The boys called family and friends for guidance. Then Jaydon’s mother stepped in, contacting someone 20 miles away for advice. The person directed her to take the squirrel to a nearby clinic immediately.
Dr. Melanie Eagan of St. George Veterinary Clinic was shocked when she saw the squirrel.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said.
The squirrel had become so entangled in the foam that it couldn’t move its back legs, and without the boys’ quick thinking, it likely wouldn’t have survived. The vet suspected the animal had been living in someone’s garage, basement, or shed, and had accidentally gotten caught in the foam, which was likely being used to seal a hole.
“It looks like someone was trying to seal a draft, and this little guy ran through the foam while it was still wet,” Dr. Eagan explained. “The foam hardens quickly, so he wouldn’t have been trapped for long.”
It took some time and persistence, using rubbing alcohol to remove the foam, but eventually, the squirrel was free. After losing some fur in the process, it was successfully released back into the wild.
Thanks to the swift actions of these two compassionate teens, the squirrel was saved. Let’s celebrate their heroic efforts!
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