A few weeks ago, my hubby took the dog out for his evening walk. As they were heading back to the house, he decided to take a short cut through our front lawn. That's when Truffles, our very precocious and only semi-trained 3 year-old dachshund (remember, all my dogs are doggie school dropouts) began barking furiously. This is why he was barking. Yep. Those are baby raccoons. It's hard to see from the pictures, but their tiny eyes are fused shut. The one on the left was a female (we found this out later) and trying to walk. The one on the right was a male and a bit wimpier than his sister. They were lying at the base of a big oak tree in the middle of our lawn. All alone.
Because at this point I still believed in the baby bird myth (you know, the one that says you aren't supposed to touch a wild baby because then the mother won't go near it), Truffles and I stayed with the babies to protect them while my hubby called a local wild life sanctuary.
The wild life lady (for want of a better title) immediately drove to our house. She picked the babies up and held them against her chest where they warmed up and literally came to life. She told us that the mother was probably gone and the babies had gotten hungry and shimmied their way out of their hidey hole in the tree and fell to the ground. Poor babies! If Truffles (hence forth known as Raccoon Saver) hadn't found them, they've died of exposure during the night. They are currently residing at the Goose Creek Wild Life Sanctuary, where they are being fed on Raccoon formula (yep, there really is such a thing). According to the wild life lady, they'll free the raccoons at about 8 months when they can take care of themselves in the wild.
Not a bad day's work for Truffles, the RS!
Maria, I remember being a kid and looking down the sewer at the end of our driveway (which was fascinating in ways I can't recount in this small space) and saw a litter of baby raccoons with their mother residing below. I don't know how they got in there or how they got out but the image of those little bandits staring up at me has stayed with me for about forty years.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you rescued the little guys! I hope they survive in the wild. Make sure you don't close your garbage cans so they have something to eat when they return. :-) Maggie
Maria, they're so cute. I would have done what you did as another subscriber to the baby bird myth. Apparently not true? I'm so glad Truffles, you and your husband were there to save them--even though they can be such marauders when they're full-grown.
ReplyDeleteYea Truffles! I hope he got extra treats and pets for being the hero and helping to save those cuties!
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