Squirrel smiles every time her rescuer scratches her #Video

Claudia's story:

In July of 2017, I received a phone call from another wildlife rehabilitator, who had a lot of animals in her care. At that time, she had a blind squirrel and she was a little overwhelmed. She sent this little squirrel down to me. And I saw the most frightened animal I've ever seen in my entire life. We just tried to keep her quiet and keep her calm. And on the fifth day, she was comfortable enough with me that she would sleep upside down in my hands.

We took her to a veterinary ophthalmologist shortly after she arrived. And they confirmed that she has glaucoma. She's blind in both eyes. She takes medication as well as getting a CBD-infused yogurt ball. She has neurological problems. She can sometimes get seizures. But she's happy here. She likes to hang upside down from her cage sometimes.

We discovered if you scratch her in the right places, behind her ear or on the back of her head or on the top of her head, she will smile for you. So we have this wonderful smiling squirrel who loves attention. She's very opinionated. She sometimes bites with no warning. She's picky about what she eats and when she's going to eat it. She can be very affectionate. She can change your mind in 10 seconds. She's really, really a cool squirrel to know.

So we call her HRH Claudia. Her Royal Highness Claudia, and we give her whatever she wants whenever she wants it. And she's very, very loved. Hopefully, we can keep her a happy, healthy girl for a good long time.
---