An injured squirrel found outside the Japanese House yesterday afternoon was transferred to a rehabilitation home after receiving treatment at Woburn Animal Hospital, according to hospital receptionist Anne Boudreau.
X−ray tests at the hospital revealed that the squirrel had sustained a spinal injury, though not a break. Veterinary doctors gave the squirrel a steroid injection, Boudreau said.
"They're not positive that it's going to do the trick, so we'll know more in a couple of days," she said.
Juniors Dan Fortunato and Zach Himes spotted the squirrel around 4 p.m. yesterday limping into a pack of bushes outside the Japanese House near Hillsides Apartments. Fortunato and Himes then peered into the bush to see the squirrel lying on its back, legs still, with its arms clinging to a branch.
It was unclear to Himes and Fortunato how the squirrel sustained its injuries.
As Fortunato and Himes called for medical assistance — including to the City of Medford Animal Control and Tufts Emergency Medical Services — one Japanese House resident put the squirrel in a cardboard box and sophomore Sophia Panuthos brought the injured squirrel to her Hillsides apartment, where she fed it Cheerios.
"It looked like it was starving, it was really skinny and obviously it couldn't walk," Panuthos said. "It seemed to like Cheerios and it was eating them."
At 4:40 p.m., Woburn Animal Hospital agreed to treat the squirrel. To ensure a comfortable car ride, Himes gave the squirrel one of his T−shirts for a blanket, which the squirrel nibbled before taking a nap.
Doctors originally suspected the squirrel might have a broken back, but X−ray tests did not reveal any breaks. The squirrel was taken to the home of Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator Joanne Sequeira for further care, Boudreau said.
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