When I arrived at federal prison in May of 2024, we had to go through an orientation for the first two weeks so they could fill us in on what to do and what not to do. What not to do was feed any wild animal on the compound. After hearing that speech and going back to my housing unit, I started asking around. Exactly what kind of wild animals were they talking about? Apparently, quite a few, including ducks, skunks and cats, every once in a while, and then my soon-to-be buddies, squirrels.

One day, maybe a day or two later, I was walking to chow and looking for these animals. I saw a squirrel close by and knelt down, made a noise with my mouth (the same kind of noise you’d make if you were calling for your pet dog to come to you). To my surprise, the squirrel actually came running to me. The other inmates were really shocked too. He sniffed my hand then ran off.

Going back to the unit, I started talking to this old man who seemed to be very interested in that squirrel coming up to me. I asked him if he had any peanuts I could feed the squirrel. He said no, but he had some peanut butter and tortilla wraps. Well, that gave me an idea.

That old man and I made peanut butter wraps, then cut them into pieces. I call them Scooby snacks.

The next day on our way to chow, I had a bunch of these Scooby snacks in my pocket. Guess who I ran into. My soon-to-be little friend. I knelt down, made the noise with my mouth, and held my hand out with a Scooby snack in it. He came right up and took it out of my hand. He stood there and ate it too. The old man said, “Son, I’ve been here 10 years and I’ve never seen that before.”

I named that squirrel Jack. A couple of weeks later, on my way to rec I saw Jack chasing another squirrel around a tree. I made the little noise with my mouth, and they both came running up to me. I named his friend Jill.

Every day when I’m outside, I feed Jack and Jill. There is another younger squirrel that I named Spazz because he is all over the place and is real jumpy.

I still feed them and see them every day, but I’m not supposed to feed the wildlife. Shhhh.

Cody Dale Calcott #44940510
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 9000
Seagoville, TX 75159

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