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Chancey the Flying Squirrel

A Flying Squirrel is Euthanized Against a Kirkland Woman's Wishes

BY Rachel Belle  on February 26, 2013 @ 5:18 pm (Updated: 8:53 am - 2/27/13 )

A Kirkland woman, who doesn't want her name used, unexpectedly found a pet in a baby flying squirrel she named Chancey.

"I rescued her from the cat. She was traumatized so I held her for, like, three hours. She was just nuzzling into me. She was just a sweetheart. We tried to see if we could find a momma because she was a baby. We don't know where she came from. She could have been somebody else's pet. Maybe that's why she bonded so quickly to a human. We don't know."

She decided to do some research online.

"Baby flying squirrels have a one in three chance of surviving in the wild. My thought was, gosh, she has been brought in by a cat. Putting her outside at night was just asking for yet another predator to get her. So I kept her."

The woman and the flying squirrel quickly became very close.

"I would get her out [of her cage] in the morning and we could go upstairs to my room where I take a shower, where it was safe. She spent a lot of time grooming herself while I was showering. It was so bizarre how she would learn things. I wasn't expecting the companionship I got from her."

But on Thursday afternoon, she found Chancey in her cage with a broken tail. She called several vets, who told her to take Chancey to PAWS in Lynnwood.

"When I took her to PAWS, I gave her to them and they wouldn't give her back. They euthanized her because they determined that she couldn't be rehabilitated and put out in the wild. Once a wildlife animal is taken to a wildlife specialist, which is the law to do, then you don't have anything to say about it."

She didn't know it at the time, but it's illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet.

"Basically, the bottom line was, I wasn't going to see her again. They didn't even tell me when they euthanized her. I didn't have a chance to say goodbye. What breaks my heart is that her last hours were spent in fear. She was so attached to me. She knew that she was safe with me. I held her non-stop after I found her with her tail and that's what calmed her down. She wanted to be close to me and that hurts. I'm so sad for her."

Jennifer Convy is the director of PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood.

"When I went up to the front desk she was already very, very mad. Which, you know, is expected. I understand that, for someone who is very emotional about the animal they had. We deal with people that get emotional about wildlife all the time. We just had a conversation for quite a long time and I had to ask her to leave eventually because we were closing for the night. We had already had our conversation for a good 45 minutes. There really wasn't anything we were able to do for her at that time."

Jennifer says Chancey didn't technically belong to her and PAWS wasn't obligated to give her a final goodbye.

"The animal had multiple fractures, had metabolic bone disease. Was really in bad shape. Would be getting a full work up by both of our wildlife veterinarians on Friday morning. Then a decision would be made at that point as to whether that animal needed to be humanely euthanized. But I knew on Thursday night, by the obvious visible signs, that the animals' situation was just very sad."

PAWS is contacting Fish and Wildlife, since Chancey's caretaker technically broke the law keeping her as a pet. But she hopes she won't be made an example, since she wasn't aware of the law and only wanted the best for Chancey.

"Last night was the first night I could sleep through the night. I didn't realize how much I thought about Chancey. I'd wake up in the morning and I'd go down and see her and talk to her and we'd go up to the shower. You know, we had our little rituals. I'd open up an orange and give her an orange slice. Throughout the day it's just been hitting me how much she was a part of my life."

I am still waiting to hear back from Fish and Wildlife about what the consequences might be. In the meantime, a message from PAWS.

"When someone finds a wild animal, contact your Department of Fish and Wildlife, or your local veterinarian, and look for avenues to get that animal the proper help it needs," said Jennifer.

Rachel Belle, Ron and Don Show Reporter
Rachel Belle is a feature contributor and personality on The Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays 3-7pm), and host of Ring My Belle Weekends (Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 3pm).
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Comments (25)


  • Add A Comment

  • jpetro wrote...
    A Rat
    February 27, 2013 10:32 am
    with a fluffy tail, is all...Vermin.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ironhdron wrote...
    PAWS
    February 27, 2013 11:27 am
    This why we the out door sportsmen have considered paws as People Against Washington Sportsmen. No sense. Then our wildlife department makes laws to support this radical group. Who is running our state, not its people.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cougsfan34 wrote...
    Who cares
    February 27, 2013 11:28 am
    Who cares. PAWS can go pound sand. I went there once for my new dog. It was the worst customer service experince ever. Apperently taking a dog on hunting and fishing trips is bad to them. They can go f*9*uck themselves all day. As for the squirrel, who cares. Little baby squirrel got probably a better life living at a home with a person then in the wild where the chance of survival is 1 in 3. As for letting the people keep wild animals, who gives a s*h*8*it on that too. If you want a tiger, fine, but when it eats your butt we know who to blame. When I got to the point that PAWS got involved in the story, I figured they were going to be the typical animal rights jerk offs that they have proven to be in the past. Oh well, maybe Rachel and the lady should write a nasty review on Yelp about PAWS.
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  • caring31 wrote...
    Wouldn't you expect...
    February 27, 2013 6:19 pm
    professionals to know more than you do about their jobs? Why is that insulting? I don't think I know everything about... business management, for example. But I know my job better than people who don't do my job (and even some people who do)! Why would animal care be any different? Also, the squirrel had metabolic bone disease. That's like ricketts in people. It means it was fed such a poor diet that its bones were malformed, which is probably why it had so many fractures. It doesn't sound like this woman was taking very good care of the squirrel to begin with, if it got ricketts AND her cat got it (twice...)!
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  • bubba1331 wrote...
    Seasonal Bunny Distress
    March 1, 2013 8:56 am
    In light of the issue with the flying squirrel, I would like to point out a recurring spring issue - the abandoned baby bunny. While the sqirrel was caught by a cat and 'adopted' by the cat's owner, many people have come into the pet store where I work saying they 'found' an abadoned bunny that they need to get replacement formula and other supplies for. The problem is, THESE BUNNIES ARE NOT ABANDONED. Wild rabbits tend to be small, and they produce a new litter every 6 - 8 weeks. The babies are weaned and ready to be out of the nest by the age of 3 weeks. They may look very tiny, but they are not welcome back at the nest any more, as momma probably now has newborns to take care of. If you see a tiny, fully furred bunny that can hop, has open eyes and erect ears, leave it alone. Being captured and handled by humans is stressful enough to seriously impact their health, and they are not in need of rescue.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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