Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-13
HAPPY IN HOME WITH HUMANS.

pets in Washington today Is
Buck, the 8-months-old pet OF
i Mr.. and Mrs. j. j. Fisher OF 900
Nineteenth street. Buck Is
gray squirrel, native OF the Virginia
woods
He probably was about three weeks
old when Mr.. Fisher found him, tiny,
scared mite, in the middle of a country
road toward shutdown Of Sweltering
August day last year . 1t was obvious
that he had fallen from the nest In
huge oak which spread its gnarled limbs
across the road.
A close examination disclosed that he
was not injured Taken to Mr..
Fishers home, he crawled around
the floor, shifted, investigated a pair of
riding boots, probably searching for
something to eat. From there MI.
Fisher picks up the story with a few
instructions on the care Of motherleSs
squirrels:
And so in the days that passed Buck
had his daily ration of condensed milk.
fed to him with a good old-fashioned
Army spoon. Now and then small bit
of celery leaf. or cabbage; sometimes
crushed peanut. Then one day the
writer received a surprise. For the first
time Buck sat up on his launches,
squirrel-like; he was growing and had
come into his own, no longer semi
invalid needing careful attention. Very
shortly thereafter he began to crack nuts
for himself. Peanuts at first became his
staple food, but after a search of several
weeks in nearby city the writer found
an obscure little store where fancy nuts
could be purchased. "Nigger-toeS." al
mondS, chestnuts, hazel nuts and pc
cans now became Bucks lot. He SAM
pied all of them. very much like a kid
with room full of tops at Christmas
time, and how he did thriveI
Vicious Streak Hidden.
by Christmas he had grown very
much. but to my dlsmay the little
streak of viciouSneSS. He would bite,
and. in slang parlance, and no. The
first impulse after few days Of this
was simply to walk to the nearby woods
and turn him loose, but then the
thought came: Could he. after having
become accustomed to being fed regu-
larly, and to romping in a well heated
room. successfully go out on his own
in December? After serious thought
about the matter I thought not. Then
I decided upon regime of patience
and, if possible, training of sort.
well, 1t worked. I handled him
gently at first, and whenever he ex-
hibited a tendency to fasten those
a rats slapped him, poked my finger
in his open mouth or squeezed his front
paws till he WINGED. At any rate this
method, crude as 1t may sound, proved
effective.
my work kept me away from home
for several weeks at a time. For
while. when ran up to Washington,
left Buck with Jimmie, colored lad
whom 1 could trust. Then, shortly be-
fore Christmas, determined that
Buck was going to journey the 140-odd
miles on the train with me. For one
thing, my wife had never seen him and
had often asked me to bring him with
me. had not anticipated much trou-
BILE with him en- route, and to my salts
faction and relief on his initial trip he
was quite content to crawl into big
sweater pocket and sleep. This trip has
been made q dozen times by Buck now.
which approXimateS something over
5000 miles he has Travelled.
Very little trouble has he ever caused
on the train, though for time he was
frightened, especially at the blast OF the
whistle, or at the swift passing OF an
other train, especially at night.
Behavior Is Improved.
"In March I returned to Washington
permanently and, OF course, Buck came
along. We naturally were apprehensive
about how his new surroundings would
affect him, and also about what dam
age he might do to well organized
aartment. He did occasionally nibble at
some piece of furniture, hoor-lamp
cord or perhaps book, but a little
more patience and training has made
him entirely tractable, we'll behaved and
very gentlemanly. He is fond OF clip
ping of buttons If he gets a chance,
but now we do not leave garments OF
any kind where he can get at them.
I'VE always associate nuts with squ1r-
relS, especially peanuts, but Bucks taste
is beyond the average squirrels, think.
He will eat celery, lettuce. cabbage
radishes, pickles, peaches, bread, ice
cream and, oddly enough, will hold an
ice cube in his paws and lick 1t, lollypop
fashion.
"A cloth sleeping bag hung on the
bath room door serves as his bungalow
and be is quite content to spend hours
day mapping in it. He has QUILTED
the interior himself, in fashion, using
an old underShirt for a mattress. At
any rate, he seems as snug as the pro-
verbal bug in rug
He retireS very early and Is the
first one aStir in the morning. His
playground is a roomy bath room win
dow sill, and after his morning ration
and a drink of water, will spend an
squirrel fashion, just gazing into the
distance. Sometimes I can almost
catch that far-away look in his eyes,