Out of respect for Little Girl and her new family's space, we had hoped to hand off any non- critical orphans
to helpers - but none of "our" plans ever
seem to go as we would like and.......along came Pa Tooie and
Suzie.
"Pa Tooie" came to us just as his eyes were trying to open.
Suzie was roughly three months old and out traveling and learning with
her family when disaster struck in the form of car/cars. Fortunately, our
wonderful vet came upon the scene but Suzie was the only one to survive.
She was unconscious when she arrived at the hospital and was treated
for brain swelling and due to a severly damaged nose, her nasal passage
was cleared of blood and debris. Suzie's condition remained the same for
several days and then she woke up. The first thing she realized was that
we were NOT her Mamma, brothers or sisters. Trying to feed, medicate
and dress wounds on a three month old wild born, wild raised raccoon is
quite similar to trying to shave a lion's butt in a phone booth !
Pa Tooie's digestive problems gradually began to ease
And of course as he ate - he grew - into all the mischief a baby boy raccoon can get into
Ha ha on us. Suzie hadn't woken up yet !
Hard as we tried, we never did gain Suzie's complete trust.
To move her from one place to another we used sheets of plywood and
paneling to build "runways" as she would not allow us to handle her.
Although Suzie was two months older, she and Pa Tooie became instant best friends, most of the time.
They played and frolicked
They were growing and now in excellent health and the time would soon be coming
for them to ** go off and make their own way as free roaming raccoons
** Footnote from the Mom - She HATES this part