It just keeps getting worse...

I came home after work yesterday to take care of the crew before heading up to Tufts with Laurie and Phil's body. His necropsy is being done there. I found Tosser dead in his cage. He had obviously been out eating and drinking and had used the litter box like normal. I am not sending him away to find out what happened. He's home for good now where he belongs. Best we can figure...if he was electrocuted in some way, pulmonary edema is usually a concern, so a heart attack is possible. I was just so surprised as he was doing so well......

Little Bramble has also been lost. Though dealing with parvo, she was still bright and active when she got her fluids before we left for Tufts. When I went down for the night feeding, she had severe hemorrhagic diarrhea and was crashing quickly and finally died. Thus far (knock on wood, cross my fingers and god willing!!!), Thorny and Thistle are still eating and acting fine....but I'm walkin' on egg shells now!! This is a very bad strain! Nothing like the one Raquel and River had last year.

I can't wait till this week is over and I hope the next updates are happier!!

Crazy update to a crazy week!!

Wow...where to begin! Well Phillip and Michelle are out of quarantine and in with the younger coon pile of 7...making an even bigger pile of 9 now!

Thursday got a baby from the MSPCA. Mom was hit by a car and killed and only 1 of the 3 kits she had were caught. Hungry and covered in sticky burrs, Bramble joined the crew. Lost a little sleep thinking of the other 2 left out there, but at least one was safe!

My neighbor also called early that morning. A coon was trying to get into his dog pen and didn't seem right since the dog was still in there! It finally went about 100 feet up a tree nearby so all we could do was wait it out.

Friday afternoon as I'm heading home from work my neighbor calls me....the coonie is only about 8ft up in the tree now. I stop over and my heart sinks...it looks like Tosser! Something is definitely wrong with him. I manage to easily capture him and don't notice any obvious wounds or injuries. So now I am mentally prepared to have Laurie euthanize him...I figure rabies or distemper. I'm a wreck. I settle him into a carrier then head out with Lisa to check on a baby coon found in a woman's back yard. Mom had been around the night before, as well as another baby.....but just this little guy is left there now. He's in great shape so we pop him some fluids and put him in the reuniting box to give mom a chance to fetch him one more night.......

Back to Tosser. Lisa and I bring him in to the animal hospital. After further checking, it looks like his whiskers are singed. I do live near some power lines...so now it's possible he may have been electrocuted to some extent somehow. It's a possibility and he's not in terrible shape....he's comfortable, eating and drinking and for now I'll just monitor him and hope he improves. It's either that or he will decline in health if rabies or distemper are at work. Either way, he's in good hands and I'll be able to help him one way or the other. My fingers are crossed!!!!!!!

Saturday brought a beautiful weekend. Momma coon came back for her kit...only an empty box left there! Also a few visitors to the front yard. My ground hog friend who I haven't seen yet finally made an appearance! And the snappers are out in full force filling my front lawn with eggs!!

Almost looks like an elephant from behind when the get up and walk!
A day trip for the baby geese.....

And a much needed new release pen for the squirrels has been added to the collection. The other 2 are already full of 18 squirrels and there are more to come over and go out! Thanks Vinny for getting it done so quick....great cage!!

Saturday also brought another call from the MSPCA.....another of Bramble's litter mates was found! She was not quite as happy as Bramble to be found! Thorny is a fitting name...growling and nipping she joined her sister.

The older boys ...Gerry and the crew....are officially weaned now and loving life in the small outdoor section of the pen! LL gave me a little scare getting sick for a couple days...but the parvo test was negative and it turned out to just be a tummy bug. A day of nothing to eat and only sub q fluids helped settle it down and he's pigging out with the rest of them now.

Sunday afternoon brought a happy ending for the last little kit lost when his mother was killed. Very skinny and dehydrated, he finally made his way here to join his sisters. Whew!! It was a very vocal reunion for them all and Thistle is doing great now. Even Thorny is starting to warm up a little....instead of cowering in the back of the cage and growling when I try to get her out for feeding time, she actually follows her siblings into my lap to get her bottle! Major progress. Eventually she'll stop growling and nipping at the hand that feeds her! LOL

22 baby coons...where the hell am I going to put them all!

And finally....the 6 squirrels I got a while back were relased and loving it!

Checking in on the coon den

Had one of the camera's set up over at the coon den in the woods.....Daisey's Den. Not much activity at all in about a week. Of course I set it up right after about a foot of snow, so that's to be expected!

One brave soul peeks it's head out.....and decides "Screw this!" and right back in. Needless to say no one else ventured out that night either!

Finally after a warm day a lot of the snow had melted in the wooded areas....and we have someone who just couldn't wait till dark.....and it's Tosser!! I was very happy to see him doing well. I'm amazed at the diverse group that holes up in here. I think it is a very large underground area. There are other vent and exit holes all over the area....another exit hole is about 6ft behind Toto here at about 10 o'clock in this pic, near the large fallen branch there.

One brave soul was out in all that snow, but not brave enough to crawl into the den he discovered!

Willie update

Willie is doing great in the big pen with all the babies. His back is pretty much healed and it looks like the eye may not be far behind. The swelling is finally down enough to the point where it looks like the eye is starting to crack open again! The foot still looks like hamburger but it is healing. One toe is crooked up a little. It was probably broken and that's the way it's going to heal...but he's using it fine! The foot looks a little gooey-er than usual here because I took the picture after putting some granulex liquid on it to help the healing process.

I totally forgot to mention I ran into Tosser on Oct. 29th! I haven't seen him in a while, then one night just before dark I'm filling one of the feeders and he appeared. Scared the crap out of me too I might add! I'm standing on a chair checking the feeder. Then I turn to scoop some food out of the bucket and when I turn back to put it in the feeder....there he was sitting there next to the feeder! Surprise! It's a miracle I didn't fall backwards off the chair when I startled! Never even heard him and suddenly there he was at eye level no more than a foot away! LOL He looks great and healthy, and like Mo he's a little more shy now. Not as skittish as Mo...he sat comfortably right next to me while I was there but he wouldn't take treats out of my hand...I had to put them down first, and he would sniff my fingers but would start to move away if I made any attempt to pet him. He's not a mamma's boy anymore, but that's ok....I'm just thrilled to be able to share a moment with him and see he's doing well! Not bad for a raccoon thrown out of a car window and left to die on the sidewalk! Yet another moment that reminds me why I do this! (sigh...warm fuzzy moment!)

Tosser's visit and raccoons on video.

Out filling the feeders one day and Tosser was more than happy to see mom. On crappy days he seems to hole up in the den box on the top platform so when he hears me he pops out to say Hi (and in this case more like "take me back home pleeeeeese!") LOL

There are ton's of moms and kits spending lots of time at the feeding station. More like a social gathering place as well for playgroups with the kits. Red, Belle and Lexi were hanging out there together with more kits running around than I could count!

LOL! Apparently social hour is tiring on everyone! The whole crew on the top platform is out like a light! They obviously know they are safe here....and have one mom staying awake as the look out!

Tosser pays a visit.

Out checking the feeders the other day and look who pops in for a visit. Tosser is looking good and happy to see mom again!

He hung out for a while getting some lovin' and chowing some food. The wound he had on his rear leg is healing well, the swelling is down and the missing toenail will eventually grow back in again most likely.

Then off he went again.......

The first wild kits sighting.

Another day checking the feeders, another pleasant surprise! Spotted 2 kits hanging out in the tree by the main feeding station.

Mom wasn't far though! In the box right below them keeping an eye on things. I think it's Brownie but I'm not sure. She's one of Ringer and Belles sisters and didn't have an issue with Belle who was eating on the platform right below her.

Mom keeps checking in on the kits.

While Tosser and Quinny also make an appearance. Everyone got along fine...the boys didn't bother mom and the kits and mom just kept her eye on things but pretty much knew the boys were no threat. Tosser was too busy following me around anyway!

And Quinny seemed to have his hands full trying to get down this huge tree to bother with anyone!

Mohican was also out there. He wouldn't come down to say hi to mom, but he was getting along fine up there and climbing well despite the cut on his hand.

The big boys go free!

The big boys out back were released on Saturday (sniff, sniff!). It was a beautiful day with good weather predicted and I was on my days off so the timing was finally right.

Quinny is the first to cross the threshold..

....followed by Tosser! Oh my little boy is out on his own now!!

Tosser has to convince Rollo to take the big first step. .....

...then up a tree he goes.

Rollo finally decides it looks like fun and takes the plunge! One of the twins also joined them out there, but the other twin and Mo could not be stirred from their hammock so I was not there when they finally decided to leave.

There were quite a few mothers hanging out at the main feeding station that took an interest in the commotion the boys were causing with their antics! These 2 moms watched from up in the branches.....not quite sure who they are, they were further away than it seems in the picture.

This girl looks a bit like Foxy though.....and was definitely tolerant of me even though she wouldn't come down to see me.

Ringer was up there too, but all the commotion wasn't going to interrupt her nap away from the kids....she's an old pro at this!

Right below Ringer, her sister Belle was chowing down, also not to be interrupted by it all!

Red was also out and about hanging with the "mom" pack.

Spider-twin climbs a tree and loves it!

Red gets comfortable and eats while enjoying the show.

By nightfall when I returned to check on them every one was out causing a ruckus in the woods!

Irish raccoons?

These were taken on St. Patty's day, so maybe this is Rollo's version of a jig???

Toto lounges in the 65 degree weather!!

Let's see how good your teeth look Quinny!

Mo loving his visits with mom......

How beautiful is he!!! He's got distinctive eyebrows...

Spring is definitely near....their coats are getting all crappy again....the moulting has begun with bare spots and fur clumps coming out.

Playtime with Quinny.

Quinny is doing great! He's up to 826 grams and had his first walk outside yesterday. He wasn't thrilled, but he'll get used to it. He's out of quarantine also so I brought him in to see the little kids, Tosser and Mo. Mo couldn't be bothered and Toto peed himself! ha ha He's so brave!

Here he is exploring while I set up a bigger cage for him.

Fishing, grapes & a walk in the woods.

Well the gang had a blast fishing for minnows the other day! No one ate any of them....but they sure enjoyed catching them then playing with them! The water turned muddy pretty fast with all 11 getting in on it.

Tosser with his catch! (or rather the catch he stole!!)

Surprisingly, Tosser was the most excited! He kept running down, grabbing a fish (usually from someone else after they fished it out!) and bringing it up to play with it on a shelf. He did this about 5 times.....back and forth....back and forth! What a riot to watch!

Here he is running up a tree to a shelf away from everyone after stealing someones fish! Too funny!!

Stinky chills....he lost interest pretty quickly....once they stopped wiggling!

The excitement of fishing set the mood....it was all out craziness for a while after the fishing!

Nosey says "Thanks for the fish mom!"

Tugger with her "crazy, I'm gonna pounce on you" look.

Mmmmmmmm.....yummy grapes!!

Tosser on his walk in the woods.