Christmas time is a period in which many families decide to give their kids the responsibility that comes with the gift of a pet, commonly a dog or a cat. Holiday spirit is often now followed by the bark of a tiny puppy, with many pictures of the whole family and the dog underneath the Christmas tree swarming Instagram. What not many people know is that one of the most common pets in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries was a squirrel.

Squirrels were in fact the pets of members of high society, including American president Benjamin Franklin, whose squirrel was named Mungo. Upon Mungo’s death in 1722, after he got out of his cage and was eaten by a dog, Franklin dedicated the following tribute: “Few squirrels were better accomplished, for he had a good education, had traveled far, and seen much of the world.” These meaningful words by one of the early fathers of the United States of America represent with what high esteem he regarded his pet squirrel. Interestingly, Franklin was not the only American president who owned one, as President Harding had a squirrel named Pete.

This fascination towards squirrels is further portrayed in different artistic pieces, such as “Potrait of a Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling” by Hans Holbein and “A boy with a Flying Squirrel” by John Singleton. The latter piece is displayed in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and shows a young man using a gold chain as a leash for his squirrel.

Even though squirrels were popular, there is a huge problem associated with them: they are wild animals, which makes them pretty hard to train. Due to this and other factors, most states banned the adoption of squirrels as home pets between 1920 and 1970. In my case, I would never adopt a squirrel, as my two dogs’ hunting instincts would would pretty much get activated. It is common to see them jumping 7-foot fences in pursuit of squirrels.

 
Borja Barbero Barcenilla is a doctoral student in the Department of Biology.