Letter to the Editor: Nutty Buddy

The mystery has been solved. I knew something was wrong when our family pet squirrel didn’t make his usual appearance for breakfast one day last week. But when he eventually made it home, I could tell that something was wrong. Maybe it was the way the left side of his crushed little body bore the tread pattern of a Goodyear tire. Or perhaps it was the dazed look in his eye. It was hard to tell. I could see only one because the other was dangling out of its socket.

“Oh, little Nutty Buddy, what happened?” I asked. 

His look said it all. Rather giving me his usual purposeful expression, his misshapen face stared back at me with a puzzled look. One that had more questions than answers. Why? Why did this happen? Why did the woman in the SUV hit me? Why didn’t she stop and render assistance? Where did I leave that large walnut? Now how will I feed my family of eight? Before I could answer his questions, he coughed up some blood and fur.

Over the years, I had warned little Nutty Buddy that he was impetuous and indecisive. More than once, he had been told that the roads of Door County were paved with squirrels that couldn’t make a decision. And now he was a member of that club.

To the woman who hit Nutty Buddy, no one wants to kill or injure an animal with their vehicle. Be glad it was just a squirrel. It wasn’t a deer, a skunk, someone’s dog or cat, or a person. More than once I’ve seen drivers instinctively try to swerve to avoid an animal and lose control of their vehicle, ending up injuring themselves, their passengers or pedestrians. Unfortunately, in Wisconsin, hitting an animal is a fact of life.

All God’s creatures are important, whether they walk upright on two legs or scoot along on four underdeveloped appendages. Please raise a glass to the circle of life and the memory of my little Nutty Buddy! 

Jim Jordan

Sister Bay, Wisconsin