Hoss

This one’s from the archive (about 12 years ago). But it's too good not to share.

Meet Hoss. He’s our yellow Lab, a certified therapy dog, and apparently also a part-time wildlife rescuer.

A few weeks ago he brought home two orphaned baby squirrels. Eyes still closed. Tiny. Probably only a few days old. We named them Jack and Jill.

Sadly, Jill didn’t make it. Jack did.

My fiancée Hillary D. and I started feeding him formula with a syringe. She’s a dog trainer who’s also spent a lot of time caring for injured wildlife, so somehow this felt… weirdly normal? People used to drop baby squirrels, raccoons, kittens (basiclaly anything that needed help) at our place. We don’t go looking for them. They just find us.

Jack and Hoss hit it off immediately. One of Jack’s favourite places to sit is on top of his doggie-buddy’s head. Hoss just sits there. Patient. Calm. Like this is a completely normal Tuesday. I ended up posting the doggie-squirrel photos to Reddit - people seemed to like them almost as much as Jack likes that seat.

We’re easing Jack back toward the wild once he’s big enough and fully on solid food. I’ve been building a backyard cage that’ll stay open, so he can come back if he wants. We also got a pre-release cage for him. Hoss sits in front of it, waiting for Jack to come out, or just checking he’s okay. Guarding duty, basically.

This isn’t Hoss’s first baby animal buddy either. Before Jack, there was Rocky the raccoon; who also decided Hoss’s head was prime real estate.

Outside of orphan duty, Hoss does therapy work. He sits with kids at public libraries while they read out loud, just to help them feel a bit braver. He’s even been in a children’s play. Softest heart you’ll ever meet; whether it’s a nervous kid or a squirrel the size of a teabag.

He’s a very special dog. He’s brought joy to children, elderly folks, orphaned babies, and, of course, us. We just try to help these little ones survive until they can be on their own. Hoss seems to think that’s his mission too.