Robbin Larson loves squirrels so much that her friends once gave her a T-shirt declaring her the “Squirrel Whisperer.”

Her backyard on Kalispell’s east side is a squirrel’s paradise, with little houses and feeders interspersed among the trees.

When a disabled squirrel fell from a tree in her yard this spring, it was in the right place for some special care. Larson has made her yard handicap-accessible for the small animal, complete with handmade log ramps and special feeding and watering areas.

About a month ago she saw the injured squirrel fall “like a wet dishrag” to the ground. As Larson observed the squirrel, she soon realized it is paralyzed from the waist down.

“I call him Little Bit,” she said. “I know I am borrowing heartache by loving him, but that just came automatically.”

As she studied his daily habits, Larson was surprised and heartened by Little Bit’s ability to navigate through her yard.

“He uses the hand-over-hand method, traveling sideways to follow our fence line,” she said. “Little Bit climbs the chain-link fence using his front legs to drag the rest of his body up.”

The squirrel’s litter mates seem to help their injured sibling, she said, showing him ways to get down from various branches.

Caring for the special-needs squirrel has become a family project. Her daughter Staci’s friend, Jacob, cut small log poles to use as ramps for Little Bit and her son Jase built a special feeder with a hole in the roof for easy access. A co-worker made the tiny log house the squirrel has claimed as his home.

“Because of the log poles, Little Bit is able to venture out more, so we get to see him more,” Larson said. “Each day he hides less and ventures out more, thanks to our ramps. Little Bit never gives up. I’m so proud of him.”

Larson, who has been a housekeeper at Kalispell Regional Medical Center for 28 years and has worked a second job cleaning Flathead Valley Orthopedic Clinic for 27 years, said she gets up at 5 a.m. to feed Little Bit. He has learned to expect his food early when the other squirrels aren’t stirring yet.

During other times of the day, Little Bit is able to fend off his siblings while eating.

“They let him win,” Larson observed. “I am happy to see that. He doesn’t fare as well when visiting squirrels come to eat.”

Larson said the paralyzed squirrel doesn’t seem to be in pain or she would have insisted on humanely putting him down.

“He is such a little determined survivor,” she said. “Until Little Bit entered my world I had no idea that squirrels tried to take care of their own like we do ... He’s given me a window to see something I’ll probably never see again in my lifetime.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.