The second wave at the release site.

OK.....we moved a second group out to the release site this past Sunday. No one has been going back and the food had remained untouched the whole time until just before the weekend when Laurie checked the area and suddenly the feeders were emptied! Go figure! No one was around though and the cage was empty so moving day was a go!

It was much tougher parting with this crew though! I was a little more attached to these guys! Michelle, Drake, Quarry, the 4 beach boys and Pansy along with Laurie's gang are all settled in. Not without incident however!We've got everyone settled in and we're both standing in there watching them have fun. Most of these guys are on the small side so as I'm watching one one of Laurie's sitting on a shelf I think wow, he's pretty good sized, he's the biggest of the batch for sure, so I ask Laurie...."Who's that?" Laurie..."I don't think that's mine, that's one of yours." Me...."No that's not mine, it's definitely yours." Laurie..."No it's not mine!" Me...."It's not mine!"

Well suffice it to say light finally dawns on 2 marble heads! We both look at each other at the same time...."OMG someone was already in here....we never checked the den boxes!" DUH!

I go over to check him out.....and one of the attitudes was very happy to see us! He began licking my hand and chattering away....and what a good boy, he never made a fuss with any of the new kids. He obviously was not feeling very well either, but he was walking and climbing around fine and had an appetite! After spending some time checking him over, a large wound was discovered under his tail......we had to bring him in. Once we got him home we took a closer look under better light and it did not look good....Laurie figured surgery was going to be needed so we planned on bringing him in the following day to get checked. I had an open pen (short lived it turns out!) so we set him up in there.

We're actually not positive who it is! It's definitely not Gerry. I think it's LL or Vin. He's way to good to be Bruce or The Rock, even feeling as sick as he is.

*I AM GOING TO WARN ALL THE SQUEAMISH PEOPLE....SOME OF THE PICS ARE GRAPHIC*

JUST AN FYI BEFORE YOU LOOK AT THEM!

We knocked him out and got a good look at his injuries. Basically something chewed him up and spit him out! He had a lot of wounds over him, but the worst was under his tail....at one time a big abscess, now just a gaping hole! Luckily it was all tissue damage....the rectum and vital areas were intact so no surgery was necessary. All we can do is treat it like an open wound so we clipped and scrubbed all the areas we could find, gave him some metacam for pain, and started him on antibiotics.

After scrubbing the many minor puncture holes on his head, neck, side etc....we get to the doozy on his butt...it's a gross one!


All cleaned up and starting to wake up....poor fella!
By the time I got him home he was wide awake.....and in true raccoon form, nothing is more important than the FOOD! He did not hesitate to have a meal.

I am happy to report he is doing very well....eating, drinking and pooping like he should be. He's a very good patient and has no problem with his daily antibiotic shot, although he is none to thrilled with the granulex I have to spray on his butt! If we're lucky, it may heal well enough to send him back out with this group.

In the meantime he's playing the sympathy card pretty well....looking all sad and purring to get me to sit there and rub his head to make him feel better! It's working! LOL

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!

At the release site.

OK....finally! The release site! It's perfect for them!

The very secluded path begins near the house.......and winds all through the woods. (That was fun lugging it all in there!)

It's like fern gully!

Into a clearing and there it is.
All set up and decorated a la raccoon.

Then it's time to add the coonies! Here they are.....The Attituds and NCIS all packed up and ready to go. (and not very happy about it either!)

Once my gang and Lauries are all loaded into the pen the crates are opened and the fun begins!

New territory and new surroundings makes for a lot of fun.....and that means no major squabbles among strangers! Even if there were problems, the cage is plenty big enough for them to avoid each other and plenty of den boxes to separate into.

They're all doing great out there and we are aiming for Wednesday for a possible release....weather permitting. They are going to love it out there!

The big kids.

The big boys are HUGE! All 5 boys with attitude are at least 10 lbs. and ready to go as soon as we set up a release site. The 5 NCIS kids will be waiting a little longer at just around 6 lbs. It is one big rambunctious crew though!

A little sibling rivalry......

Gerry is very good at relaxing.

Look what a big beautiful boy he is!

The younger one's still love a snuggle here and there.

Is there a treat in there or not!?

It's like a hammock and the dinner table!

Is it any wonder why I call it the laughing raccoon? You'll find this is a very common expression among happy coons!

The now destroyed papasan chair frame.....I've got to start working on a hammock made out of the fire hose we got!

I never get tired of watching them play....they are sooooo good at it and obviously enjoy themselves thoroughly!

NCIS meets attitude!

The NCIS crew had graduated to the shed, wreaking havoc climbing all over the place as many past litters had! Cute as can be they enjoyed their new playground.

Then it was finally time to meet the big boys! So I brought them out to the outdoor pen for a meet and greet with the Attitde boys. A couple of the big boys were not too thrilled about the smaller, new arrivals to begin with.....

But within half an hour the little kids and the big boys were fast friends!

They all even eat in peace together! Amazing!

They did so well I was able to leave the little kids out there with big boys instead of putting them back in their crate in the shed! They have the run of the smaller outdoor section of the pen and the indoor section and they are LOVING it!!! A lot more room for running and big trees for climbing....awesome!

Gibbs, Dinozo, McGee, Abbey, Ziva, LL, The Rock, Gerry, Vin and Bruce are officially one big happy family!