Help! My friend brought a squirrel to a bad rehabber!

[Radagast]

A friend of mine who is a rehabber brought a squirrel to a rehabber (upon her husband's insistence) who provides a poor diet and releases squirrels that are too young into the Canadian harsh winter. She's trying to get the squirrel back and the woman in being nasty. Here is a link to the Facebook conversation that is unfolding.... https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1924348017787763&id=100006377498482&substory_index=0&hc_location=ufi

[stepnstone]

I have to agree the diet they feed would raise a lot of red flags to me also from an
establishment of rescue that should know better. I don't know Canadian law but the
facility is waving a license that can be hard to argue with regardless of experience
when one is without.
From reading the fb messages I'm afraid this is a regret she'll just have to live with,
very doubtful any amount of protest would get the squirrel returned to her.

[DixiesMom]

I have to agree the diet they feed would raise a lot of red flags to me also from an
establishment of rescue that should know better. I don't know Canadian law but the
facility is waving a license that can be hard to argue with regardless of experience
when one is without.
From reading the fb messages I'm afraid this is a regret she'll just have to live with,
very doubtful any amount of protest would get the squirrel returned to her.

Hi Stepnstone,
I am the one this happened to, and yes, this is a regret I'll have to live with. Some people protested thinking they were helping, but that was not my wish.

The laws in Canada are set by each province. This rehab center is in Ontario, but the squirrel I brought is from Quebec, where you don't need a licence to rehab squirrels. She is waving her licence as a pretense for refusing to hand the squirrel back over to me, but I am sure if I looked into it, I would find out she was not allowed to take on a squirrel from a difference province in the first place. I did a super quick search and I saw the mention of "native" in the Ontario laws regarding wildlife. She isn't being truthful about her reason to keep him. She lied about a few things with me and on the thread...

It is still a concern that such a poor diet is fed to baby squirrels.
Here is the picture that made me find out what he was being fed. The caption said "this morning", which is the worst moment of the day to serve junk. Not that any other moment is a "good" moment. It's just even worse.

293679

With me, devouring a rodent block before bringing him there.

293680

[Milo's Mom]

Okay, guys, you ALL need to back down.

First, the transporting of a squirrel over provincial lines was breaking the law. Next, since the squirrel is now in Ontario you have to go by Ontario law. Ontario law prohibits the rehabber from giving wildlife back to the public. If this mess keeps going and if the MNR gets wind of this, THE SQUIRREL WILL BE EUTHANIZED! If the MNR gets involved they will end it, quickly.

Further, per the rehabber authorization in Ontario they must release the animal within a certain number of km's from where it was found. Now, this is not likely to happen as it would require the rehabber to once again break the law by crossing provincial lines. The rehabber broke the law by accepting the squirrel in the first place, and I'm sure as many of us would do, it was done as a favor to the finder to help the baby.

The squirrel is in the hands of an authorized rehabber, the squirrel has squirrel buddies, and hopefully they will all soon be released and peanuts will be a thing of the past. But seriously, I do think the FB conversation needs to stop (and be deleted) because if the MNR gets involved it will end badly.

And, if this facility is found to be in wrongdoing and the MNR goes in, it will be more than this squirrel that gets PTS. The entire facility can be shut down immediately and ALL animals will be PTS, the MNR will wash their hands and walk away to move onto the next one.

And, as my disclaimer, I discussed this entire thing and the FB stuff with an authorized rehabber within the province of Ontario.

[stepnstone]

Hi Stepnstone,
I am the one this happened to, and yes, this is a regret I'll have to live with. Some people protested thinking they were helping, but that was not my wish.
I understand and I do understand your frustration of thinking you were doing the right thing. I also understand the "outcry" of support.
As I stated "From reading the fb messages" I personally did not post to it because I view it as a moot point to add fire to an irreversible situation.
Regardless of legalities, also as stated, "the facility is waving a license" and you can bet they will know how to cover their azz!
I'm sorry this has happen to you. :grouphug

[DixiesMom]

Okay, guys, you ALL need to back down.

First, the transporting of a squirrel over provincial lines was breaking the law. Next, since the squirrel is now in Ontario you have to go by Ontario law. Ontario law prohibits the rehabber from giving wildlife back to the public. If this mess keeps going and if the MNR gets wind of this, THE SQUIRREL WILL BE EUTHANIZED! If the MNR gets involved they will end it, quickly.

Further, per the rehabber authorization in Ontario they must release the animal within a certain number of km's from where it was found. Now, this is not likely to happen as it would require the rehabber to once again break the law by crossing provincial lines. The rehabber broke the law by accepting the squirrel in the first place, and I'm sure as many of us would do, it was done as a favor to the finder to help the baby.

The squirrel is in the hands of an authorized rehabber, the squirrel has squirrel buddies, and hopefully they will all soon be released and peanuts will be a thing of the past. But seriously, I do think the FB conversation needs to stop (and be deleted) because if the MNR gets involved it will end badly.

And, if this facility is found to be in wrongdoing and the MNR goes in, it will be more than this squirrel that gets PTS. The entire facility can be shut down immediately and ALL animals will be PTS, the MNR will wash their hands and walk away to move onto the next one.

And, as my disclaimer, I discussed this entire thing and the FB stuff with an authorized rehabber within the province of Ontario.

Don't worry, the FB conversation already ended and it did on a good note. I have done my best to stop it from getting out of hands, as I don't want to hurt the refuge. I have asked my friends yesterday to remove bad comments/reviews as I never wanted things to be taken this far, and certainly don't want animals to be the ones paying in the end. I have increased my star rating to 3*, after the rehabber said she would not give peanuts anymore. I was not wrong for writing a review and my intentions were and are pure. I don't need to be told to "calm down". I am calm and have been since yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, I made a mistake, but now this is all behind me and I am at peace.

[DixiesMom]

I understand and I do understand your frustration of thinking you were doing the right thing. I also understand the "outcry" of support.
As I stated "From reading the fb messages" I personally did not post to it because I view it as a moot point to add fire to an irreversible situation.
Regardless of legalities, also as stated, "the facility is waving a license" and you can bet they will know how to cover their azz!
I'm sorry this has happen to you. :grouphug

I agree with you. And it might seem as if I made an outcry for support, but I did not. I talked about it on my personal page, and my friends decided on their own to chime in. I have done the opposite of asking for support. I asked them to remove bad comments and bad reviews that were made on my behalf. And I did not start this post here either. As it turns out, it was not a moot point, because the rehabber ended up saying she would not give peanuts anymore.

[stepnstone]

I don't need to be told to "calm down".
:grouphug

[DixiesMom]

And on a last note...
Because I am satisfied peanuts will no longer be given and the LAST THING I want is to hurt animals, present of future rehabs of this refuge, I just deleted my review. Milo's mom, you have scared me with this PTS risk, I don't want to take any chance.

Case closed.

[Milo's Mom]

Don't worry, the FB conversation already ended and it did on a good note. I have done my best to stop it from getting out of hands, as I don't want to hurt the refuge. I have asked my friends yesterday to remove bad comments/reviews as I never wanted things to be taken this far, and certainly don't want animals to be the ones paying in the end. I have increased my star rating to 3*, after the rehabber said she would not give peanuts anymore. I was not wrong for writing a review and my intentions were and are pure. I don't need to be told to "calm down". I am calm and have been since yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, I made a mistake, but now this is all behind me and I am at peace.

I never told anyone to "calm down" I said "back down" which is different. I never said anyone was wrong. In the future, before you try to blast me for "something" I said, please read my words in the context of which they are written.

I'm glad the conversation has been taken care of. I've seen first hand what the MNR can do and has done to rehabbers in Ontario.

In the last 7-10 years the province of Ontario has lost 2/3rds of their rehabbers due to the MNR shutting them down for "infractions". What this rehabber did IS an infrection and if the MNR gets wind of it they can be shut down, unless she doesn't tell them the truth...and plays dumb, which would all be negated by the posts on FB as of last night.

My concern for YOU in this matter is the fact that YOU brought the squirrel across provincial lines and YOU are lucky the rehabber is not turning YOU in, as YOU can be charged and YOUR actions can be the reason the squirrel would be PTS.

My post was simply sharing my concerns and knowledge of the laws of the province in which the squirrel is in and begging for the conversation to stop so that some "smarta$$" doesn't get the bright idea of calling the MNR, thinking that they are helping the squirrel!

I'm sorry if you found my post to be offensive, demeaning or attacking you. I will not, do not, and never will sugar coat the truth. If it's black and white I say it's black and white.

I called an Ontario rehabber seeking help for you in possibly getting the squirrel back!

[Milo's Mom]

And on a last note...
Because I am satisfied peanuts will no longer be given and the LAST THING I want is to hurt animals, present of future rehabs of this refuge, I just deleted my review. Milo's mom, you have scared me with this PTS risk, I don't want to take any chance.

Case closed.

That wasn't necessary, but in the long run I do think it was the very best thing to do. I do really think your little one will be just fine. :grouphug

[DixiesMom]

That wasn't necessary, but in the long run I do think it was the very best thing to do. I do really think your little one will be just fine. :grouphug

That is what I choose to believe and have faith in... that he will be just fine. I have to.

I am sorry for misreading before, when I thought you said I needed to calm down. I've been so emotional all week, my brain read the wrong thing. My apologies.

I am not worried at all to get in any sort of trouble for taking a squirrel over the provincial lines, because there is no proof of this anywhere. We did not sign any papers, the refuge owner does not even have our address... And it's not like I dropped there unannounced. My husband (who forced me to bring Poopoochi there) is the one who arranged the transfer, which she agreed to.

How I wish I knew that was against the law, because I would have rehabbed Poopoochi myself (with a squirrel buddy of course) and my husband would have had no choice but to accept it.

oh well... it's all done now. The only thing I have left to do is be positive.