Circle P Wildlife Rescue: August 2011

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.

Friday, August 19, 2011

UPDATE - Fawns, Raccoons, Squirrels, Opossums

Friday 8/19/11
The four fawns (Penny, Pepper, Holly and JD) are all doing great. They are almost old enough to be released. We're looking at mid-fall for a release time. We've weaned them for the most part and they're all eating grass, ground corn and sweet feed. We still give formula twice per day but we pour it into a bucket now and allow them to lap it up rather than feed them from a bottle. As they mature, we'll wean them completely from formula and move them onto 100% solid food. We built a water mister and put it on the south side of the fawn's pen so that the prevailing breeze will blow water mist into their pen. We also have a sunscreen on top of the pen to help keep the fawns cool.

The raccoons, Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel (so-named because each shared personality traits of their television namesakes) are loving life and all four are thriving. The weather is so hot right now; 100+ every day and drought conditions are here for the immediate future. The heat and lack of rain has caused water to be very scarce and food supplies to dwindle. Even though the 'coons are old enough to be released, we're holding onto them until forage and water conditions improve. We put a water mister and a fan outside the 'coons pen so that there is a constant stream of water mist blowing into the pen. The 'coons play constantly and are always good for a laugh. Here's a video of one enjoying the water hose:

The squirrels have all been released. One or two still make themselves seen almost daily. They bark at us from trees as we walk through the yard, or they chase us down and jump on our pant-legs then climb onto our shirts so we can feed them a few pecans.

From time to time we see some of the opossums as they forage for food near the barn or the house.

The heat and drought have been a real issue for wildlife this summer. We set out cantaloupe, watermelon, pecans and vegetable scraps as well as plenty of fresh water that all can access from the woods or from the front yard. From the footprints and missing food, we know the wild critters are eating and drinking.

Update on Sandy, the infant squirrel

8/16/11
We held off for a week on naming the infant squirrel we picked up from Susan. The mortality rate on anything that small is very high, but she'd made it a week and was gaining weight, growing and seemed to be thriving. Teresa and our daughter Katie came up with the name Sandy (as in Spongebob's friend Sandy the squirrel from Texas). Sandy had been on antibiotics for a full seven-day cycle on Monday and everything seemed great.

At the 3:00am feeding - Teresa fed Sandy EVERY three hours, around the clock - Teresa noticed that Sandy was lethargic, her appetite was less than usual, bowel movement was labored and her urine output had decreased. At 6:00am, Sandy's condition was about the same. By 7:00am, her breathing was labored. At 11:00am Sandy died in Teresa's lap.

We stay small - we run our rehab from home, we don't solicit donations and pay for everything out of our own pockets. We don't have fund-raising events and we don't have volunteers. Our intent is to remain small enough that we know every animal on sight and every animal has a name. When one of out babies dies (there have been two out of close to 75 animals) it hurts us. We take comfort knowing that we did everything possible to keep Sandy alive, but in the end it wasn't based on our effort, prayers or dedication. We don't know the Lord's plans for His animals, so we accept the bad with the good and continue to work just as hard today as we did yesterday.
John

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The "Coon Coop"

May 2011

Toward the end of the 2010/2011 school year, the students in Mr. Fischer's shop class at Rains High School ran out of projects and needed something to finish the school year. We supplied the lumber and materials and they built us a 10 foot wide by 8 foot tall pre-release cage for the raccoons. While they were working on the project, one student commented that the cage looked like a chicken coop. Another student replied that it was for raccoons. The students began calling it The Coon Coop and the name stuck. The Coon Coop was built with Wildcat Pride; it's perfect. Thanks guys!

I've got it made in the shade!

See-thru skin without an X-ray?

The baby squirrel is so tiny that her skin is translucent - you can see individual veins beneath her skin. In this photo, do you see the light colored band in her abdomen just between her ribs and rear leg? Teresa just fed her - you're seeing fresh white formula inside her belly!

Baby squirrel August 7 2011

On Sunday 8/7/11 we got a call from a lady named Susan. A baby squirrel had fallen from it's nest, (which was higher than the second floor of Susan's house) and the family dog had brought the baby to Susan. Susan looked up a recipe for formula via the Internet and was able to keep the baby hydrated until she could find someone to take the baby. Susan did EVERYTHING right and kept the baby alive for 24 hours - not an easy task with one as young as this one. Susan was concerned that the baby might have aspirated some formula, which can cause pneumonia and can turn deadly within a matter of hours.

We met Susan and picked up the baby squirrel. When we got it home and evaluated it, it weighed 17 grams - to give you an idea of 17grams stack three US quarters( .75 cents) together and you've got 17 grams - this baby was tiny. The baby had minor bruising - maybe from the fall, maybe from being carried by the dog. Her urine was a little bit dark, but we've seen worse. We've never had anything this small before, but the process is the same as it is for the bigger animals.

We got the baby warmed up to normal temperature in a reptile aquarium we turned into an incubator. Once temperature was normal, we started her on a round of antibiotics just in case she had aspirated formula. Once triage and temperature were taken care of, it was time to eat! We started the baby on squirrel formula (Fox Valley is the best we've found) and she began to eat. By the next day she'd gained 2 grams. Her urine is clear now and she has normal bowel movements. Teresa is feeding the baby on a three-hour round-the-clock schedule and it seems to be thriving. We try not to be overly optimistic in the first few days with a new rescue, but we think this baby has a good chance at survival and eventual release.Once we've had her for a week, we'll give her a name.

A note of thanks: None of this would have happened without Susan's quick, effective intervention.

Using the dfwmustangs.net Universal Standard Measurement: A drink can for size reference.

Thanks for looking.
JP

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.