Squirrel Rescued by Artist Now Paints for Charity

Portrait of an artist: Winkelhimer Smith is a squirrel
Portrait of an artist: Winkelhimer Smith is a squirrel

When Shyla Mouton rescued a baby squirrel from a cat, she didn't expect the animal to survive the night. She certainly didn't expect her to become a painter.


Mouton looked out her kitchen window in May 2012 and saw a cat attacking a tiny squirrel.


"I rushed out there to help her. One of her front legs was messed up pretty bad. I put her in a little box on the porch to make her comfortable because I didn't think she would make it through the night," Mouton told America Now.


But the 6-week-old squirrel pulled through, so Mouton named her Winkelhimer Smith and continued to nurse her back to health.


Also see: Meet the squirrel that literally wears many hats


It wasn't long before Winkelhimer began imitating Mouton, an artist who sells her work online.


"I paint dolls and jewelry, and she just watches me all day long. They are very intelligent animals," she said.


Mouton offered the young squirrel her own paintbrush, and soon Winkelhimer was painting alongside her.


"She's really good at manipulating the paint brush with her good front leg and mouth. She still can't do a lot with her arm that was hurt."


Mouton sells Winkelhimer's paintings at PaintingSquirrel.com and uses the profits to help people and animals in need.


Watch Winkelhimer create one of her abstract masterpieces in the video below.



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