Sanford Tutors

About Sanford

Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel, has an important mission: motivating people to be safe in and on the water. Twiggy is a gray squirrel who is very familiar to residents of Sanford, Florida. Twiggy’s owner, Lou Ann Best, takes the squirrel to about twenty boat shows and other events each year. To promote its mission, Twiggy wears a squirrel-sized lifesaving vest that Lou Ann sewed herself—especially poignant because Lou Ann’s husband, Chuck, died of a heart attack after assisting and saving the life of his stepfather during a boat outing.

The Twiggy “business” was actually Chuck’s creation, and it all started as a joke. In 1978, a baby squirrel was blown out of her nest after Hurricane David hit Florida, and Chuck and Lou Ann took her in. Sweet and affectionate, the squirrel accompanied her new family everywhere. After Chuck bought a remote-control boat for his daughter, friends teased him for playing with it so much. Not missing a beat, Chuck retorted that he need to learn how to use the boat so he could teach his squirrel to waterski.

The Bests had already taught a monkey to skate and a poodle to surf, so they took on the new challenge eagerly. Chuck fashioned skis out of buoyant foam blocks and proceeded to teach the squirrel to ski. The story hit the local newspaper in May 1979, then spread worldwide. ABC filmed a story that ran on Good Morning America; coverage followed on Real People. The Best’s telephone rang off the hook; everyone wanted the squirrel to perform.

Since then, Twiggy (and her ancestors, since squirrels don’t live very long) has performed in several countries and is included in encyclopedias, magazines, movies, and commercials. The multi-talented squirrel not only waterskis, she also jetskis, hang glides, and wakeboards.

Family tree
Squirrels live only one to five years in the wild, but eight to twelve years in captivity. Lou Ann’s oldest Twiggy passed away at 13.5 years. All the squirrels are raised in Lou Ann’s home in the “squirrel room,” which is decorated with murals of the forest and real tree branches. All have been female, except for two males, and all but one have been rescued from the wild.

Training
Lou Ann says that love and affection are the keys to training, which typically takes two months to two years. She shows videos of previous waterskiing squirrels to the new squirrel babies. When they are teenagers (between six months and a year old), she gets into the bathtub with them to acclimate them to water, simultaneously earning their trust. Next comes learning to balance on the skis. Lou Ann also teaches the squirrels to count their laps in a pool and to jump off when they are finished.

The care and persistence Lou Ann uses to train is similar to the exceptional guidance that knowledgeable Sanford tutors can give local students. Tutoring in Sanford is a great path that helps forward-thinking, motivated students to excel—just like Twiggy!