The swelling on his face remained obvious, and the scraped hip looked rough where the fur had been lost.
But Miles was more responsive than he had been at intake.
For now, that was enough.
His recovery enclosure was intentionally simple.
No climbing.
No branches.
No opportunity to attempt the kind of explosive movements an Eastern gray squirrel would normally make.
Miles needed rest and controlled recovery before anyone could worry about getting him back into a tree.
Over the following days, the changes became easier to see.
The swelling around his face gradually decreased.
His eyes looked brighter.
His appetite improved when his condition allowed appropriate feeding.
The abrasions over his hip began healing.
And Miles started sitting upright.
At first, he did most of the work with his front legs and the uninjured hind limb.
The injured leg remained guarded.
He would shift his body rather than place meaningful pressure through it.
Watching him move made the stakes of the injury painfully clear.
For a squirrel, a hind leg isn't simply something used for walking.
The hindquarters provide much of the power behind a leap.
They help launch the body from one branch to another.
They absorb landings.
They contribute to rapid climbing and sudden changes in direction.
Miles could potentially learn to compensate inside a protected enclosure.
That wouldn't necessarily mean he could survive forty feet above the ground.
So we waited for function.
The first change was small.
Miles pulled the injured leg closer to his body.
That mattered because the limb had previously remained extended in the abnormal position that had concerned us at intake.
Later, the foot touched the enclosure floor.
He didn't put much weight through it.
Then he lifted it again.
The next day, he tried once more.
Touching became brief weight bearing.
Brief weight bearing became a few awkward steps.
Miles still favored the opposite side, but the injured leg was participating.
That was the beginning.
His face was healing too.
As the swelling receded, the difference between the two sides became less dramatic.
The scraped hip remained obvious because missing fur takes longer to disappear than swelling.
For a while, Miles looked like an animal still in the middle of a crisis even though his behavior was steadily improving.