Nice weather brings the gang out for a visit.

Here we have the social members of the gang! Sissy, Dusty and Odie have no problem coming out to say Hi. Buddy, on the other hand, not so inclined. He comes out when dinner arrives like all piggy young coons do, but has no desire to further hang out with me around. Not a bad thing by any means....I know he'll have no problem avoiding humans when he gets released!

Odie and Dusty here are always the first to come running. Is Dusty not the cutest, little round puffball of fur!? He's like Button reincarnated.

  

 Odie is big and handsome as ever...... and quite attached to his little brother.

 

Sissy is also very sweet. She would never allow me to pick her up or anything, but she doesn't mind my company or a good butt scratch! The marshmallow treats don't hurt either!

Our happy (and luckily small) gang spending the winter. It's nice having a smaller mess to clean up after too!

Bad, good, and great updates!

Well I am sad to report I had to euthanize Cujo the squirrel. Unfortunately he began to self-mutilate and he injured his front foot too severely.

On a much brighter note, I am happy to report that the bun JoAnn is taking care of is still doing well. He's done with the antibiotics, still eating well and not overly stressed. The leg is still an issue, but it looks good for this lucky bun!

  The squirrel from Tuft's is doing well also. I don't really get to see much of her at all though! No matter how quietly I sneak out there to try to get a peek, she knows I'm coming and she's tucked away in her comfy nest inside the 5ft hollow tree in her pen. She's eating like a pig though and I got a pretty good look at her staring up at me from inside the tree after some pretty creative maneuvering, shining a flashlight in there and positioning a mirror just right to see inside down there! Another good reason I live in the woods where no one can see me.....anyone watching that show surely would have thought I was out of my gourd!! LOL

Dusty, Buddy and Sissy are doing great...and I believe I forgot to mention last time that Odie joined them out there. My little runty boy, never expected to survive! He may have been slow to develop, but develop he did! He looks like a normal, beautiful raccoon now. All he needed was the time to catch up and a safe place to do so.

At about 3.5 months old he was about the size of a 2 month old...if that, and only his canine teeth had come in. Molars were just starting and incisors....well they took a lot longer! His eyes looked odd and he was scrawny as could be!

 Finally by end of summer all his teeth developed and he began to fill out and grow and looked like a normal raccoon. His fur was still very sparse and soft though, kind of like kitten fur syndrome.

 Come fall, when Dusty arrived....... big beautiful eyes, packing on body fat and grown to normal raccoon size. And that fur coat....beautiful and full and thick with a nice undercoat!

 Is he beautiful or what! He was a lot of work, but soooooo worth it! :)

Squirrel circus!

Squirrels, squirrels......and more squirrels! Most people would have a heart attack if they looked out their window and saw this circus at their bird feeders! Not here though. All fur babies welcome....and they know it. In fact, the feeders are out their for them, the birds are just a welcome addition! :)

Is it any wonder I love relaxing at the kitchen table, sipping a yummy cup of coffee watching the show?!

:)

Some recent intakes.

Cujo here, is one of the new intakes. He's an adult squirrel that was grabbed by a hawk, then dropped and left there. The wounds from the hawk are minor, however he is neurologic. Most likely due to head trauma from the fall. Right now he's on pain meds, antibiotics and resting comfortably....as long as I leave him alone! The sound of him growling and gnashing his teeth at me has made it very clear that friends is something we will never be! All I can do is give him time and hope he improves, although the prognosis is not great.

There is another adult squirrel out in the release pen. She was at Tuft's for a while recovering from an injured leg. She finally improved enough to be in a pen where she can climb and move around enough to exercise the leg and get it back to 100% in time for a spring release.

 

JoAnn is caring for an injured adult cottontail. I picked him up at work Friday. He was found in a backyard and it is believed a fox, seen in the area around the same time as the bunny, may be the culprit. Prognosis is usually not good for adult bunnies because they are so delicate due to stress, however in JoAnn's very capable hands he is doing well! He is eating great....a very good sign. The only concern is that he is not using one of his rear legs that well. He was examined by a vet and nothing appeared broken, however there could be some nerve damage or it could just be painful. Another case of giving it meds and time.... 

 

Other than that, it has been pretty slow on the wildlife front! The overwinter coons are great! Dusty is just the cutest darned thing! He looks just like Button from a couple years back....small, round, puffy and, well, just as cute as a button! LOL  Buddy and Sissy, his 2 step-siblings, are doing great. Buddy is full of piss and vinegar and does not want me to touch him at all! Sissy on the other hand is very sweet. She doesn't want me picking her up or anything, but she loves a good back and chin scratch. It's usually dark by the time I get home and head out to feed them, so I have not been able to get any good pictures. I'll try getting some over the weekend during the daylight!