Squirrel Rescue, Rehab Hosts Annual Fundraiser Sunday In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Nearly 25 years ago, Jill Horstmann, then living in St. Petersburg’s Shore Acres neighborhood, which is notorious for flooding, rescued her first squirrel.

“A big storm came through and there were these two baby squirrels I found. One had died and the other was struggling,” she told Patch. “I pushed on its stomach and water came out and it came back to life.”

She wasn’t sure what to do next.

“AOL was barely a thing. There was no Google,” she said. “But I winged it. Figured out some sort of formula and eventually, let it out in my backyard. Looking back, I did everything wrong. I don’t know how that baby survived.”

Today, Horstmann runs a wildlife rescue, Squirrelly AF, rehabilitating hundreds of ailing squirrels over the past 10 years, and has even branched out to possums.

The nonprofit is hosting its annual fundraising event Sunday, 4 p.m., at Red Tiki Bar and Grill in St. Petersburg. Those who can't attend the fundraiser can learn about how to donate to the organization on its website or on its Facebook page.

After that first baby squirrel, it was nearly a decade before another crossed her path. Then, after another 10 years had passed, another came into her care.

This was right before Hurricane Irma hit in 2017. In the week that followed the powerful storm, “all of a sudden there were 5 million babies needing help,” Horstmann said. “And because people knew I already had one, they started calling me when they’d find babies.”

At this point, more information was available online about how to care for baby squirrels who lost their home and she began finding rehabber groups to learn from — everything from feeding them by syringe to how to wean them off formula to how to utilize pre-release cages and nesting boxes to prepare them to live their lives in the wild.

“Everything they need to just learn to squirrel,” she said.

While Horstmann is happy to take in squirrels, who often come from tree trimmers and landscapers or people who find them during the stormy season, she’s intent on educating the public on how to reunite babies with their mothers. She estimates that about 60 percent of the squirrels she’s rehabbed over the years could have easily been reunited with their mother.

“Nests can come down quickly in short storms, but mom wants the babies back,” she said. “She has backup nests made in the area.”

She recommends that before bringing squirrels to her, that people take them in and keep them warm using a heating pad, and then after the weather has cleared, to put them outside for up to an hour, depending on the heat, and play baby squirrel cries, which can be found on YouTube.

“I just always try to push the fact that mom wants the babies back,” Horstmann said. “It’s amazing to watch happen. So, please try to reunite them. Mom does it way better than we do. Anything human made is not even comparable.”

But she’s happy to help any squirrel that comes her way. Her first goal is usually “fattening them up,” she said. After that, it’s a “long process” of moving them to different sized cages as they grow and give them the materials they need to learn how to build nests and bury food in dirt.

The final step in the process is the nesting boxes.

“The squirrels will go out, spend the day out in the yard and then come back to the nesting boxes at night,” she said. “Some will do this for weeks and weeks until they’re ready to go off on their own.”

And even when they are released, they don’t always go far. Many remain in the area and often come back to visit Horstmann.

Not all can be released back into the wild, though. Some come with long-term neurological and physical disabilities and require her ongoing care.

One of her most meaningful rescues was a two-legged squirrel named Juice. His back legs were paralyzed and had to be amputated because he kept getting them caught as he climbed the bars of his cafe. Since he remained with her for the remainder of his life, the two bonded.

“Me and Juice were inseparable. He was my best friend,” she said.

Sunday’s fundraising falls on Juice’s birthday and will also celebrate his life. He died at the end of last year around Christmas.

Prior to rescuing squirrels, Horstmann worked at bars and nightclubs as a DJ and emcee.

“It was all this craziness. I was surrounded by people all the time and all of a sudden, I meet these little squirrels,” she said. “Once you hold a squirrel, it’s life changing. … It’s a really neat feeling that a wild animal can trust you like that.”