The great coyote release!

 Belmont coyote released back into the wild after treatment at Tuft's Wildlife Clinic!

That is the happy headline for this lucky girl. You may remember her back in the beginning of December when John managed to catch her while attempting to rescue another male out there with the same problem. Well, Tuesday was the big day. I picked her up at Tuft's and met John for the big release. He had chosen the perfect spot for her away from traffic and people with lots of woods, and close enough to reconnect with her family.
Those georgeous eyes! She was anxious to be out!

 

Finally the big moment arrived!!!

Don't let the picture fool you....it may look like she just casually walked out, but not so! She was out of there like a racehorse out of the gate!

She wasted no time getting as far away from us as possible! One final shot as she rounded the corner out of site and it was over in seconds!

If you watch the video from the story in the paper above, you'll see just how quick it really was. Another great day for wildlife...it was wonderful to watch and it's great to know there are many out there willing to help these beautiful animals as opposed to those who would see them harmed out of fear and ignorance. I know one golf course that will be thrilled to have their exterminator back!

All I know is that seeing these animals go home is just a wonderful feeling beyond words. :)

And in keeping with good things happening this week, my buddy Hissy & the Missus showed up a couple days ago! So good to have them back safe and sound. Like it or not, it's officially spring out on my pond!

The mice go free!

Well we finally have some nice weather so it was time for my little beady eyed friends to get out and enjoy!

I set up a little shelter for them in some underbrush with some food and water earlier this morning....

 Checked them out and wished them good luck....

 Then gathered them up and put them in the shelter with their nest. I'm sure they lasted in there all of 5 minutes after I walked away...lol

A very anti-climatic goodbye to my little friends....good luck and don't become one of the little buggers that has taken up residence inside my walls!!

M-I-C.....K-E-Y.....M-O-U-S-E!

Well I'm happy to say a couple short weeks after looking into that Tupperware container and ending up with 2 tiny mice....I managed not to kill them and they are doing great! A boy & a girl, their beady little eyes opened 3 days after I got them.

 Since then they have grown into the cutest little things and will be ready to go soon.

A lot has happened over the last week! The girls were released Wednesday. My little Pip is out in the big world.....along with Dolci, Merry, Stony, May, Moose, Amy and Kinky. My little babies are out on their own...sniff, sniff....

No sooner did we juggle babies around and send my 2 pair and Laurie's pair, Tewky and Crooky, off with another rehabber when the Animal Rescue League showed up with a new batch...literally about 15 minutes later. So much for a little rest for the weary! A pair from Perkins School for the Blind where they had the mother exterminated. Laurie took them home. Also a single boy who was found by a couple girls who thought it would be great to take it home! The next day they called the ARL  complaining that it "destroyed" their house. OK....he's only about 4 weeks old, so he's not the one that destroyed anything. The "B" word comes to mind when thinking about these clueless ladies.......Luckily he's none the worse for his experience and settled in well here.

In the middle of all that another situation....a baby discovered stuck between the walls of a multi family home. No idea where mom is or if she is still around. Luckily Jim was able to rescue the little girl and get her safely to me. The situation was not ideal for attempting a reunite...and it was not even known if mom was still around to begin with. Springer is doing great as well and is the same age as the little boy from the ARL so they will be perfect together after quarantine.

Keeping an eye on another situation where a single kit was found. A re-unite is being attempted and if it's still there in the morning it will become the newest member to join the crew......

Whew.....It'll be nice to get back to work so I can relax! LOL

Boys gone wild.

And they're off! Tash, Gibby, Andy, Ringo and LB are finally out in the real world! (sort of). The weather was good and it was just plain old time for them to go. They have been more than patient while waiting for Rivers babies to be old enough to be mobile so she would not be so freaked out by them hanging around should they decide to harass them like Vin did! So last Friday the 6th the world became their playground and they were loving it!

By the end of the night, Andy and Gibby had made their way out back by the main feeding station....

....much to Belle's dismay! LOL She was less than thrilled by the company! She was a good girl though and didn't whip their butts like she could have. Instead she settled for a little meal away from the interlopers.The next morning everyone but Gibby was back home. One in the hammock, LB on top of the cage, and the other 2 in the den box! So much for out in the wild! Gibby was the only brave one to spend the night away from home in a tree out back by the feeding station....but he didn't seem to mind....quite comfortable actually!

For the past week they have been out all night and back in the pen to sleep off the day. Gibby and Tash were the first to not return to the pen after a few nights, and as of a couple nights ago, Andy has not returned to spend the days. Yesterday it was LB and Ringo still using the den box but when I went out this morning it was only Ringo in there.

Then there is Gibby......

Tuesday night I went out to check on everybody and found Gibby in the den box...and he didn't look good. He was obviously very painful and not moving much at all. I managed to get him into a carrier and into the basement where Laurie and I could check him out better. There were no apparent injuries at first and his color was good. He was so pathetic though....enough to convince me to comfort him all night....sleeping in my arms on the loveseat in the basement. I'm glad it helped him to sleep, becasue I sure as hell didn't get much!

I was convinced I had been played big time by a con-coon, but I did eventually find some spots where someone apparently chewed on him a little. So it looks like he just got beat up and has a little infection going.

After a couple days of pain meds and some antibiotics, he's already feeling better....although he's still trying to milk it by getting me to hold him and baby him.......! Too busy though. Have a new litter of baby raccoons to get settled....

A short term patient.

Got a call from a great kid who came across this unfortunate fella in the middle of a busy intersection in town. It was acting dazed and trying to run and falling over. He managed to scoop it up and get it to me.

(Yes they do come out during warmer periods over the winter, they are not true hibernators.)

Well by the time I got him and peeked in the box he was already making awkward attempts to jump out of the box. I set him up in a nice cozy cage to de-stress and rest for a while.

His exam showed him to be in great shape actually. No external injuries other than a swollen eye and all his limbs were working just fine. His body condition was great! He was most likely grazzed and stunned by a car during a sluggish trip above ground.

After a night of rest our little chippy was back to being alert and active and very quick! (and pooping and peeing fine as you can see!) No evidence of internal injures....good!

Fresh water and some yummy foods were eagerly consumed.
Then a nice hot pack for the closed eye and voila! Everything normal under there too!

I brought him back to the intersection where the kid found him to scope out a safe place to release him. I opted for the parking lot of a local ice cream shop that's got some yards and bushes around it. I opened the cage toward the direction I wanted him to go near some nice bushes, then he did an about face and proceeded to start to run the opposite way right across the open parking lot! Visions of him heading towards the road and getting squished right in front of me dancing in my head!
But no.....like it or not that ice cream store has it's resident chipmunk back! Because he knew exactly where to find that hole under the corner of the building.....he made a bee line right for it, no hesitation, no searching. He is home sweet home! Good luck little fella!

Insert warm fuzzy here! :)

The first release.

OK...sooooooooooooo......no luck figuring out how to get the @!#$*&# video onto my $#%@* computer! If I had to guess, it has to do with the way I formatted the disc in the camcorder so that it can only be played like a dvd. I can watch it but I can't do anything with it! Of course I videotaped the release so no actual pics of it. I do have these though....taken while we were hanging out saying goodbye just before we opened the doors!

What a bunch of clowns! They were in rare form!

Once the door was opened most came out in a mad rush. A couple of the Attitudes were the last ones out and needed a little reassurance by me that it was OK.....but eventually they were all out and hell bent on having fun, running and climbing all over the place!

The next morning Laurie and I managed to locate 4 of the gang out there hanging out in the trees. That was the last we've seen of any of them!

Been back a few times, and Laurie and I went late Monday night to see if we would run into anyone and nothing. The food is barely touched so they are not relying on the pen and feeders either. Although it's sad we probably will not get to see them again....in this case it is a good sign. It means they are very independent and don't need to rely on us. It also means that there is plenty of natural food out there for them! We knew we had a great release area when we saw it and their lack of dependence on the actual release site tends to support that. Complete with a lake, swamps, tons of trees and PLENTY of room to roam away from any human habitation....they are having the time of their lives out there I am sure! They were soooo ready to go!

I'm still here!

I apologize for my absence.....without getting into to much of the gross details, I ended up getting a fungus on my thumb that caused both my hands to become very itchy and irritated to say the least! It was difficult using my hands for much and I pretty much avoided the computer throughout it all. By the time I finished dealing with the animals my hands were too irritated to do much else with them anyway, despite the use of gloves! They are FINALLY getting better....the new meds are working and my hands are looking normal again for a change.

A lot has happened since! Qbert, Snarf and Snuffles have grown! They're in the big indoor cage and loving it. Snuffles is somewhat of an escape artist and occasionally I find her waiting for me on top of the cage while the boys try to figure out how to join her!

There has been a large influx of baby squirrels these past few days. One injured adult and 10 new babies have joined the crew! Good thing my hands are getting better....even with some nice padded gloves these guys are a handful.

Roo here has been a guest for a little while. He's a very sweet adult that came in injured....possibly hit by a car? He's dragging his back end, however he can move his feet and tail and feels pain when pinched. He's pretty quick when he wants to be. He is eating great and the wounds and scrapes on his back feet are healing well so for the time being, he has a place to rest and is being given some time to see if his back end is just bruised and will heal with rest.

We did end up releasing the gang this past Wednesday. The hurricane was a non-factor weather wise in this area. I took some video of the release and I'll be damned if I can figure out how to get it onto my computer to post it! Ugghhhh....very frustrating!!! I've been back a couple of times and no sign of the gang. Laurie and I are going to try to head out there tomorrow night and see if anyone is around. In the meantime I'll keep trying to get that darn video to do what I want it to!!!

The little stinkers go free!

So my 5 little stinkers finally got their freedom Monday night! As you can see...it brought a smile to their faces! LOL First wake up the crew......

...then give them a final big meal so they don't have to worry about it their first night out there exploring!

Then off they go! I opened the door and they made their way out without hesitation....well except for one that was SOUND asleep! The rest were wasting no time heading out and exploring....I had to go wake up the slacker or he would have woken up later to find himself all alone and none of the others in sight! A little snort and a grunt, he finally realized what was going on and caught up with his siblings.

They pretty much stuck to the woods, occasionally investigating just beyond the brush in the open....but for the most part they stayed safely under cover of the dense woods and eventually ventured deeper.

One last look back...and maybe a passing thank you?....and off my little babies went! Sniff..sniff! Good luck little ones!

I still have Lisa's 5 skunks here, and they were thrilled to get moved into the bigger pen my gang vacated. It won't be long before they can head out too!