Circle P Wildlife Rescue: George and Grace.

Who we are... and who we aren't

Who we are:

We are John and Teresa. We live in rural Rains County, Texas. We both grew up involved in farming and ranching. We learned how to care for animals from our parents.

John's dad worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmates working on the grounds of the prison frequently found injured/orphaned small animals. These inmates knew who to bring the animals to: John's dad. Dad brought the animals home where John's mother and older sister bottle-fed them and nursed them back to health. When they were old enough to survive in the wild, they were released. Seems like there was always a baby ground squirrel, rabbits and other small animals living in a shoebox under the bathroom vanity.

Teresa started caring for orphaned babies on her own as a child. Growing up on a working ranch, Teresa frequently found injured and orphaned animals. Teresa raised baby Cottontail Rabbits on a regular basis - something few people are able do successfully.

When we first got married, we rescued and/or rehabilitated several dogs, a pigeon with one wing (result of a hawk attack) and a baby dove. We lived in town at that point and didn't really have a place to keep wild animals, but we did what we could.

In 2008 we decided, for a number of reasons to move away from the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. We found a few acres with a small house and a barn on it just outside Emory, Texas. The owner of the property was an elderly man named John Hagen.

Mr. Hagen was an amateur conservationist and had home-made bird boxes of every size all over the property. One housed a colony of bees; Some housed flying squirrels; Others had owls, ducks, Bluebirds, etc. As John showed us around, we knew we'd found home. We bought the place from John and made friends with him. John was in poor health when we met him, and within a year of our meeting him, John died. We miss John very much and hope he would be pleased with our efforts.

What we believe:

We are conservative Christians and our work with wild animals is an attempt to give our testimony and to serve and honor God.

God created the animals:

Genesis 1:25 - God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

God cares about the animals:
Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

God gives each person gifts or abilities to use in His service.

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
1 Corinthians 12:7 - But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
1 Corinthians12:8 - For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:9 - To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

We use our meager abilities to help these animals survive. We house, care and feed them until they are mature enough to survive on their own in the wild, and then we return them to where they are supposed to be - in the wild.

Who we aren't.
We're NOT animal rights activists. We believe these people are misguided and few of them ever lift a finger to actually help an animal. Most are quite content to make spectacles of themselves protesting outside a fried chicken restaurant or throwing red paint on people wearing fur coats. Not our cup of tea.

We're NOT against hunting or fishing. We believe hunting and fishing are very valid methods to keep animal populations within healthy boundaries, ensuring enough natural resources for all the wild animals to thrive. We support hunting as a source of healthy meat and have no qualms with hunters using wild game to feed their families.

We don't make pets of the wild animals, as much as we love them, it'd be a terrible disservice to them. They were born in the wild and that's where they're supposed to live.

Legalities: We are working to get our license from Texas Parks and Wildlife. In the meantime, we volunteer and are listed as sub-permitees of a larger wildlife rescue/rehabilitation operation in Terrell, Texas.

We are legally authorized to treat, house and transport wild animals.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

George and Grace.

On Thursday 9/17/2010 we learned that a school district in one of the north Dallas suburbs had a baby squirrel and a young possum turned in. John was off like a flash to get the animals.

George:
The young male possum appeared to be in good health and mature enough to make it in the wild on his own. We fed and observed him overnight - sure enough, he was able to forage for food and was drinking plenty of water. His urine and fecal output were normal and he appeared to be in good health. Country singer George Jones' nickname was "Possum". It seemed appropriate that this possum's name should be George Jones. The next day, Friday, John released the possum in a bamboo thicket near a creek. The possum looked back once then wandered off and began eating insects.

Grace:
The baby squirrel was a different matter entirely. She was terribly dehydrated and had been allowed to get cold. Baby squirrels in a cage or box need a heat source to maintain their body temperature. This baby also had what appeared to be tiny puncture wounds and an injured front foot and rear leg - evidence of being attacked by a cat. The first battle was body temperature. A heating pad did the trick. Next was hydration and nutrition. Teresa spent all night trying to get the little squirrel hydrated and fed. From there, monitering urine and fecal output was the next step. Teresa named this little baby "Hope". After several injections overnight and into the next day, Hope was hydrated. Hope began to eat from a syringe. Hope's urine and fecal output increased. We really thought we were winning the battle. Then hope stopped eating. Her urine grew dark and output slowed. Hope got lethargic. Within a couple of hours, Hope died.

We suspect Hope got an infection from the cat attack. Once the infection set in, there wasn't much anyone could do.

We learn something from each animal: Sometimes we learn patience. Sometimes we remember how to laugh and find joy in simple things. Hope reminded us that we aren't in control of everything. No matter how hard we fight, sometimes we're going to lose the battle. She also reminded us that no matter how hard the fight, you dig in and fight until there's nothing left to give - that's what Grace did.

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Six baby skunks - July 2009

We learned of six baby skunks at a business in Arlington, Texas. SKUNKS! Nobody likes skunks, right? But they're part of God's creation and they were babies. Nothing deserves to starve to death and we weren't willing to sit back and let that happen. Mom was nowhere to be found, and given their proximity to a major roadway, it was pretty likely she had been hit by a car. When we initially got the call, we were told ONE baby skunk was wandering around during the daytime, begging food from employees. When we arrived and did some investigating, we discovered the skunk's den - there were SIX of them. All were hungry and dehydrated. We captured them, fed them and got them hydrated then turned them over to a skunk specialist. Although we'd both worked with animals since we were kids, these six babies made us keenly aware of two things - we needed more training and we needed to get much more deeply involved in rescue/rehab.

Three infant Eastern Grey Squrrels - Georgia, Debbie and Larry

2/12/2010 - These little bugs were abandoned by their mother after the tree that housed their nest fell in an ice storm. They are less than a week old in this photo. We gave mom every opportunity to come back, but after a few hours it was clear that she'd gone and wasn't coming back. Time was not on our side; one baby had fallen into the snow and appeared to be dead. Cold to the touch, no detectable heartbeat or respiration. I picked him up, held him in my cupped hands and blew my warm breath on him. After a minute, I was certain I felt him move. I passed him over to Teresa, so she could continue to warm him up while I got the other two from their destroyed nest. The electricity was out because of the ice storm, so we wrapped all three in a towell and sat them near the wood stove in our living room. Within minutes, all three were moving and hungry! We named them Debbie, Georgia and Larry.