The other day, staff at Gator Ford, a car dealership in Seffner, Florida, started hearing something unusual in their facility’s break room. It sounded like a faint scratching noise —and it was coming from the ceiling.
Tom Dossett
At first, the employees didn’t think too much of it. But as the sound persisted for an hour, one of the sales associates, Christina, decided to take a closer look.
Climbing up, she popped out one of the ceiling panels. And sure enough, Christina noticed a little face staring down at her.
Joey Keenan
It was a baby squirrel who’d somehow crawled into the ceiling space and couldn’t find his way back out.
Joey Keenan
Next, Christina carefully collected the baby squirrel and carried him outside to release him. That, however, didn’t go as planned.
“I walked with Christina outside near the trees to a place we thought it would be safe to release him, but he didn’t want to leave Christina,” Gator Ford employee Joey Keenan told The Dodo.
Joey Keenan
The pair then called for their colleague, Tom Dossett, to lend a hand. He gently picked up the squirrel and held him against his body.
Their plan next was to call for help from a local wildlife rescuer. That’s when they noticed something unexpected.
Joey Keenan
After walking back closer to the building to find a box in which to place the baby squirrel, the staff at Gator Ford noticed an adult squirrel perched nearby, examining their movements with great interest.
“The squirrel just started coming up to us, which was unusual,” Tom told The Dodo. “So we figured it was the mom.”
Without hesitating, Tom decided to facilitate a reunion. And here’s footage of what happened next:
With great excitement and relief, the baby squirrel and his worried mom were soon together again.
“It was astonishing,” Joey told The Dodo. “[The mother squirrel’s] emotions were no different than yours or mine in that situation, and to witness it all firsthand was extraordinary.”
Reuniting squirrels isn’t part of the staff’s official job description, but for all involved, it was time very well spent, nonetheless.
“We love animals. There are all sorts of wildlife around here,” Tom said. “This definitely increased the morale of everyone here.”
