From the beginning, Istre’s intentions with Willa were to bring her back to good health and then return her to the wild. She’s done that with a few birds in the past. She’s also trapped possums in her backyard so that Animal Control could release them “in the woods, out of town, so that they don’t get attacked by dogs.”
Istre’s cat Elle — whom she kept separate from Willa so as to foster a healthy fear of larger animals in the squirrel — had also been a stray. Istre found her as a kitten by a gutter in New Orleans shortly before a thunderstorm hit.
“She was so tiny and her eyes were half-closed when I found her,” Istre said. “I had no intention of keeping her, but we bonded.”
The same thing happened with Willa.
“I didn’t think that I was ever going to want to keep her or that she would want to stay. But I just didn’t expect the connection that we had. I love every animal and, of course, once you take care of something you bond with it and want to see it do well, but with her, it was just, like, crazy. She was my baby.”
Gray squirrels can be found in almost every mainland state in the United States, yet in only three states (Arkansa, Colorado, and Indiana) is it legal to keep one as a pet.
In Louisiana, it is against the law to keep a squirrel unless you have first obtained a permit through the state’s Department of Wildlife & Fisheries or if you are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
It is, however, perfectly legal to hunt and kill squirrels during most months of the year, as well as to keep their bodies as trophies.
“I just think it’s insane,” Istre said. “So you can hunt and kill squirrels in Louisiana but you cannot help them unless you’ve paid your money to the state to take their classes and become a licensed rehabber?”
Istre had been well aware of her state’s laws pertaining to squirrels from the beginning, so on the day when the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries finally gave her a call, she led with: “I’ve been expecting you.”
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