This is a infant California Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) that was abandoned by it's mother at about one week old.  A couple of kids saw the mother drop it from her mouth right in front of them in the town of Auburn.  At first, they thought it was a dead mouse.  Fortunately they called us at Gold Country Wildlife Rescue to retrieve him.  When volunteer,  Christy Jones, received him he had tiny bites all over his body and was very dehydrated.  We believe that the mother had rejected him for some reason, possibly she thought that the baby would not survive in the condition it was in.  This youngster has been in a rehab home for over a month and will probably have to stay for a month longer before he will be ready to be released back into the wild.