Virginia Doctor Loves Tree Rats

I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t love to watch a fluffy squirrel dart about the backyard collecting acorns. But its not like squirrels are rare. To me they are just tree rats. One doctor in nearby Vienna, Virginia loves his squirrels so much that he defended one with a shotgun.

From the AP here:

For a Virginia doctor, squirrels are a man’s best friend, too. Thomas Shepler, a hand surgeon, shot a hawk to death in his backyard when he said the bird was eyeing a young squirrel that he and his wife had helped raise.

Shepler, 65, said the hawk had previously killed an adult squirrel near his suburban Washington home in Vienna. When the doctor tried to chase away the bird over the weekend by yelling and throwing a crowbar at it, the hawk didn’t leave the area.

So Shepler got a shotgun and killed it.

A police officer heard the shot Saturday and Shepler was arrested. He was charged with discharging a firearm in public and cruelty to animals.

I’m glad the old doc was charged with animal cruelty.  What an extreme over reaction to a rare and beautiful predator.  And besides, squirrels in this region have had it good for way too long.  Only in recent years have these happy little mammals had to look over their shoulder for hawks.  The funniest thing about a hawk snagging a squirrel is the look of outrage and surprise on the little squirrel’s face.