WINNSBORO — For Davie Johnson, life has been a bit nuts lately. The 41-year-resident of her Winnsboro home has had squirrels take over the upstairs of her home.
Having squirrels in her attic stinks, and it literally did so over the weekend. Johnson had noticed squirrels making noise in her attic and running to and from her house. Over the weekend, she smelled a foul odor that turned out to be a dead squirrel.
After calling Winnsboro Public Safety, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Fairfield County Animal Control, an option she found to be cost prohibitive, Johnson finally called a local television station for help in removing the animals.
“I could not make a bill I could not pay. And for me $50 (for a house call fee before a quote on potential repairs) is hard to come by,” Johnson said.
Prior to calling, she had been to get a special permit back in September to allow someone to shoot the squirrels on her property. The problem was, she could find no friend or neighbor who was willing to go into town and sign permit paperwork.
The 76-year-old widow has never fired a shotgun at a squirrel, so her hunting the pests was not an option.
She loves her well-kept home which she added to over the years as she was able. Originally it was a three-room dwelling when she purchased it from Rebecca Ellison. She did receive help from law enforcement once to close up a hole in her closet ceiling that was formed when one of the squirrels fell through, but there were too many other points of entry for this to resolve the problem.
The Ark Company out of Columbia came and inspected her home. They closed up entry points with mesh wire and they left traps on the roof with instructions for her to call as soon as she hears a squirrel in a trap. The goal is to capture the squirrels alive and remove them as soon as possible.
“They came and sprayed and closed up the house for me,” she said. “It gave me a lot of comfort today, them showing such concern for me.”
The inspection revealed damage to her wiring that squirrels had chewed into. The Ark, Animal Removal Control Company hopes to raise funds to help pay for electrical repairs to Johnson’s home. People interested in helping with that effort may contact Trapper Consultant Exclusion at 803-233-3417 or bobby@arkarc.com.
A retiree on a fixed income, Johnson lives a simple life that includes shopping at thrift stores for her necessities. She also volunteers to assist hard of hearing and deaf persons. At age 76, Johnson is learning American Sign Language. But thanks to the actions of the Ark company, kindness is one thing she hears loud and clear. Now she has an uplifting story to share, er sign, with the people she visits.
“I kept my home up and kept things right when I was able to,” said the retiree who once worked at Fuji film and the sewing room.
Though she looks to live a quiet and peaceable retiree life, she hopes her example will inspire other citizens to be self advocates for and seek help if they need it.
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