Community Corner

A Soldier and His Squirrel Return from Duty

A charming Veteran's Day story we found online tells of a soldier who nursed an ailing squirrel during his military service and took it home, where it claims the dash of his taxi.

As Veteran's Day stories go, this one beats all for quirky and sweet. It is not local but it won our hearts after we found it on Facebook, where it linked back to MSN.com, which linked back to SodaHead.com.

Our photos are actually not THE squirrel in question, just cute babies from stories of yore. But click on the links to see the slideshow of the officer and his squirrel. Our favorites are #4, 6 and #11. 

From the MSN.com story:

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"Soldiers are known for being tough as nails, but when this fellow in the Belarusian army found a sick squirrel under a tree, his inner softie came out. Warrant officer Pyotr Pankratau discovered the tiny creature unconscious and barely alive. Taking him back to the base, the officer fed him milk from a syringe every four hours. After two weeks, the little guy began to pep up and ended up staying on the base with Pankratau for the next two years. When they were released, the officer took his furry right-hand man, whom he'd named "Minsk," with him and the two now drive a taxi cab together. Scroll through the gallery above to see photos of the adoreable pair."

(Belarus is an Eastern European country bordered by Russia to the northeast).

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Did you take any fun photos over the weekend? Post them here and have a nice Monday, from all of us at Patch.


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