Joe Kahlo
This is the moment Kip the baby orphaned chipmunk was found on the side of the path while Kristin Donnelly was hiking up the White Mountains in New Hampshire, US.
He was a newborn and couldn’t even open his eyes.
So the hikers sat with him for around a half-hour, looking around for a nest and waiting to see if a mother or any other relatives show up.
After not finding a nest or any relatives, they decided to take Kip home with them, especially since the trail had snakes that would easily prey on the baby.
The first call Kristin made was to her vet friend to get some advice on the next steps, what she needs to do and what she needs to get.
The vet didn’t give him a very good chance at survival and the first weeks would be critical.
The unexpected part was Kristin’s dog Charlie who was just obsessed and fell immediately in love with the baby chipmunk.
Often, Charlie would just sit there and watch Kristin feed him, he would just want to be near him and give him licks.
After a little while, Kip opened his eyes, and this is when he reciprocated the love and wanted to be with Charlie.
He would always try and be near him, and always bury down into his fur and get comfy, Charlie would just let him.
“I think he thought of Charlie as a mother comfort, he always wanted to be right next to Charlie.”
Kristin started noticing that Kip wasn’t growing the same way that most chipmunks his age would, maybe this was why he was rejected from his nest.
Unfortunately, one day, Kip went to sleep but didn’t wake up the next morning. Understandably, Charlie was devastated.
Watch this all play out in the video below:
What a beautiful story!
