It's always sad when a legend decides to retire, but that's exactly what's happening to Twiggy, the water-skiing squirrel. And she made her last appearance here in Minnesota.

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You might have heard of Twiggy-- she was quite the celebrity, having made appearances in everything from the movie Anchorman to Brad Paisley's video for the song River Bank.

According to this KARE-11 story, Twiggy called Florida home and was originally pressed into service on water skis powered by a toy boat after Chuck Best started caring for a baby squirrel he rescued that had been blown out of a tree by a hurricane.

He noticed his daughter's toy boat, began to whittle some tiny skis out of styrofoam, jumped in the pool and started working with Twiggy, and eventually taught her to ski. The rest is history.

Until last weekend, that is, when Twiggy hopped on her skis one last time and made her last public appearance at the X-Games, right here in Minnesota. Which is only fitting, since Twiggy also made her first appearance here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, back in 1979, at a convention of real estate agents, the story said.

And, in case you're curious, no, squirrels don't live that long-- the story said the Twiggy retiring this year is actually the eight squirrel to be called Twiggy, and is now 10 years old. She's ready to retire, as is her owner, Lou Ann Best, who took over Twiggy's show after her husband, Chuck, passed away in 1997.

It's fitting that a water-skiing squirrel both started and ended her illustrious career here in the same state that actually invented water skiing, isn't it?

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

 

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