After A Long Winter, Three Masked Orphans Return Home

 

Raccoons are one of only a handful of wild species that thrive even in the most urban environments. Despite their remarkable ability to adapt to life among humans, individual Raccoons often succumb to the dangers that are present in our cities and towns, and the PAWS Wildlife Center receives a steady stream of orphaned or displaced baby Raccoons throughout the spring and early summer months. Most of these kits are old enough to fend for themselves by August or September, at which point they are released into a suitable habitat to resume their wild lives.

Every so often, we receive a few Raccoon kits that were born much later in the summer. Such was the case last year with an orphaned brother and sister, and another unrelated female that were brought to us in September. Weighing less than two pounds each at admission, these three youngsters were not ready for release before winter arrived. Rather than releasing them in winter when food is scarce and the weather is unforgiving, we kept the Raccoons in our care until spring arrived.

On May 9, I returned the Raccoons to the wild on a beautiful piece of land containing hundred-year old trees, two ponds and a fast-flowing creek. After placing their release carrier near a dense stand of salmonberry and ferns next to the creek, I opened the door to set the Raccoons free. They exited the carrier slowly, and one of them turned around to inspect it from the outside.

The Raccoons did not stay by their release carrier long.  Within minutes of the door opening, all three of them were rooting around in nearby leaf litter, searching for worms, beetles and other delicious snacks.  I saw them pausing frequently to pop morsels into their mouths before continuing to forage.

Eventually, all three Raccoons wandered off into the gathering darkness toward the sound of the rushing creek. Although they had been in captivity for many months, they seemed completely at ease in their new, forested home.

As I write this, the Raccoons in our cities and towns are once again busy raising the next generation. To learn more about how to peacefully co-exist with your masked neighbors, visit the Raccoon page on the PAWS website.

 

- Kevin Mack, PAWS Wildlife Naturalist

 

 

Foster Care Heroes: Chronicles of a Cat Lover

 

The first one was a ploy to warm her husband to the idea of adopting. The second and third were to replace the void left when she had to give back the first.  For PAWS foster parent Brooke Freeburg, each one of the many animals she has fostered holds a special place in her heart.

For Freeburg and her husband, opening their heart and home to provide temporary care for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies is a benefit that far outweighs the cost. Caring for these helpless animals until they are ready for adoption, says Freeburg, is the ultimate reward.

"It's so easy, and we get so much out of it" she says.  "There is nothing like coming home from work and having a cat crawl up onto your lap for a snuggle."

In fact, Freeburg enjoys fostering so much that she started her own blog—The Foster Cat Chronicles—to document the joys of caring for these purring companions, like kittens Boone and Johnny Kyler (pictured above).

When it comes time to say goodbye, Freeburg says that she is comforted knowing that PAWS staff take great care to find the perfect home for each and every animal she fosters.

"They try to find the perfect match so that both human and animals are happy" she says.  "I really like PAWS, and that is why I foster."

PAWS relies on foster parents like Freeburg to help prepare the animals for adoption into loving forever homes.  In turn, foster parents are able to experience the joy of seeing a young, feeble infant grow into a healthy adult, or a sick animal nursed to health. 

Says Freeburg, "The joy and excitement that I feel when I see that one of them was adopted makes everything worth it." 

 

PAWS is always looking for more foster homes, especially throughout the busy spring and summer seasons.  If you are interested in becoming a foster care volunteer, visit our website or call 425.787.2500 x822 to get started. 

Save a life by joining the PAWS Foster Care Program!

Baby Season is Underway at the PAWS Wildlife Center

Baby season is officially underway at the PAWS Wildlife Center, and more orphaned, sick and/or injured babies are rolling in every day.  Working with these animals frequently elicits a contradictory emotional response. All of the babies are adorable, but they arrive at the center after something has gone horribly wrong in their lives.  So at the same moment that you encounter their unbelievable cuteness, you are also faced with the terrible tragedy of their circumstances.  However, any sadness that is felt about any given animal's misfortune is tempered by the knowledge that, now that he or she is in care, the animal has a good shot at a second chance at life.

Several patients that we have received in the past week have certainly fallen into this cute but tragic category.  On April 29, we received two orphaned Raccoon kits that were found in Snoqualmie, WA.  Thin and dehydrated when they were admitted, the babies have been thriving in our care.  The photo below shows one of the kits five days after admission.

On May 2, we received a very young Douglas Squirrel after she was found, weak and shivering, in a yard in Duvall, WA.  No sign of her mother or a nest was found, so the baby is currently being raised here at PAWS with an orphaned male that is about the same age.

On the same day that the Douglas Squirrel arrived, a property owner from Granite Falls brought in four tiny bunnies that he found in his fire pit.  We identified the rabbits as infant Snowshoe Hares.  Unfortunately, one of the fragile youngsters died in transit to the wildlife center.  The remaining three have been slowly gaining strength in the days since their arrival.  One of the hares is pictured below.  The green stripe on the edge of his right ear enables us to distinguish him from his litter-mates. 

These are but a few of the babies that are currently in our care, and many more will come through our doors as spring progresses into summer.  Our goal for every one of them will be the same—to ensure that their tragic stories ultimately have happy endings.

 

PAWS' Unsung Heroes

You Don't Need to Be a Superhero to Save a Life.

Little Mallory looks up with watery eyes and lets out a plaintive cry.  Carefully reaching her tiny arm through the cage door, she tries to catch the attention of anyone passing by.  This helpless one-month-old kitten was surrendered by her guardian to PAWS, but she is not yet old enough to be adopted so she will spend the next several weeks in the home of a PAWS Foster Care volunteer.

These foster parents are the unsung heroes of direct animal care at PAWS.  They are the ones who lovingly care for animals with kennel cough, or who get up in the middle of the night to bottle feed a litter of kittens.  With the help of these amazing foster parents, the PAWS Foster Care Program gives animals who are not yet ready for adoption a chance to live and be loved in foster homes.

Foster parents provide temporary care for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies in their own homes. Some animals need as little as two weeks of care, while others may need care for up to three months.  Through this incredible program, we are able to:

• Provide a safe, comfortable place for animals to recover from an illness or stress.
• Prevent overcrowding in our shelter. 
• Increase adoptions by better preparing animals to be social, loving, well-adjusted members of the family.

PAWS is always looking for more foster homes, especially throughout the busy spring and summer seasons.  If you are interested in becoming a foster care volunteer, visit our website or call 425.787.2500 x822 to get started. 

Save a life by joining the PAWS Foster Care Program!

 

A Hummingbird's Journey From Nestling to Fledgling

Once again, the hummingbirds are the stars of this installment of the Campus Update as we follow one tiny chick's journey from nestling to fledgling.  Click below to download the PDF.



Download Campus Update 042812

Spruce Elementary Pet: Meet Badger & Little Bit

 

What was it about these roly-poly Dachshunds that caught the attention of the second grade students in Miss Jennie Warmouth's class?  The fact that they are best buddies!  The students know that sometimes it can be difficult to find homes for a bonded pair of animals, so they wrote this adoption profile to help them find the perfect forever family together.

And it worked!  The perfect family came along and fell in love with these two sweet pups.  Thanks to the creativity of the Spruce Elementary students, Badger and Little Bit now have a forever home and family of their own. Read the profile that helped them get adopted below!

 

Badger and Little Bit are best friends. They want to stay together forever in a FOREVER HOME!

Badger is spectacularly stealth and Little Bit is just A LITTLE BIT TOO CUTE! These two are like TWO PEAS IN A POD!  This duo will benefit from some regular exercise and playtime.

Badger loves snuggling little stuffed animals. Little Bit can be a little bit shy but guess who helps her feel brave? Her bestie, Badger!

They are compassionate critters and we think they hold the key to YOUR HEART!  Do you have a big enough heart to love this paw-fect pair?

 

POP QUIZ:

Q. Whose name starts with a “B”? 
Answer: Badger

Q. Whose name starts with “L”?
Answer: Little Bit

Q. Who is going to fall in love with them both?
Answer: YOU!!!

 

A Grounded Grebe Finds Help At PAWS

The loading area behind a Seattle grocery store is not exactly an ideal habitat for a Red-necked Grebe. In fact, it's downright awful, but that is exactly where one such grebe found himself on April 14.

Grebes, loons and many other species that winter in Puget Sound and along the outer coast are currently on the move. They are flying inland, toward the freshwater lakes and rivers on which they will breed. But this is not a non-stop flight. The birds rest and feed on bodies of water they encounter en route. Unfortunately, sometimes what they perceive from the air as a safe stopover point turns out to be anything but.

From the air, the shiny surface of wet pavement looks a lot like the surface of a lake.  Some birds only find out that it is not what it appears to be when they try to land on it.  Since loons and grebes require a running start on the water's surface to get airborne, they are effectively stranded once they hit the pavement.  They also often suffer injuries during the unexpectedly hard landing.  Fortunately, the grebe that was found in the grocery store loading area did not suffer any serious injuries when he landed.  He was very feisty upon arrival at PAWS.

Although the bird had no injuries, he did soil his feathers as he was struggling around on the ground.  For a bird that spends all of its time in the water, dirty feathers pose a real challenge.  Dirt, grit and oils compromise the water repellency of feathers, allowing the bird to become waterlogged and possibly hypothermic.  The Red-necked Grebe required a quick wash while he was in our care to restore his feathers to pristine condition.

After regaining his waterproofing and dining on an all-he-could eat fish buffet for a few days, the grebe was released on April 19.  Hopefully, he will complete the rest of his migration without incident.

GiveBIG and Give Animals a Second Chance

GiveBIG for the animals!

GiveBIG to PAWS on Wednesday, May 2 and your gift will get even bigger!

For the second year, The Seattle Foundation is hosting GiveBIG, a community-wide day of online charitable giving. Last year, The Seattle Foundation helped raise more than four million dollars for local non-profits, including PAWS, when we received $5,835 in donations directly from this one-day event. These generous gifts helped care for hundreds of animals at PAWS last summer.  

Donate to PAWS through The Seattle Foundation website on Wednesday May 2, and your gift will get even bigger!  For every donation made to PAWS through GiveBIG on May 2, a portion of a donation pool provided by The Seattle Foundation and other sponsors will be donated to PAWS.

GiveBIG Facts:

• GiveBIG is ONE DAY ONLY – Wednesday, May 2.
• You can donate to PAWS from midnight to midnight on May 2 through the The Seattle Foundation website. Using their website is the only way for your GiveBIG donation to be counted toward the campaign.
• Donate with your credit card or debit card only. Donor Advised Funds through The Seattle Foundation are not eligible for GiveBIG.

If you have any questions about GiveBIG, please contact Tana Feichtinger at tfeichtinger@paws.org or 425.412.4024.

Thank you for your BIG, generous support of PAWS!

Spruce Elementary Pet: Meet Cinnamon

 

It's spring break, so what sort of activities do you think the second grade students at Spruce Elementary are up to?  Writing adoption profiles for the animals at PAWS!  Teacher Jennie Warmouth and students Brian, Chi Chi and Jessica took time out of their busy spring break schedules to create this adorable profile for PAWS kitty Cinnamon in hopes that someone would read it and want to take her home.

And it worked!  The students perfectly captured Cinnamon's sweet nature—sugar, spice and everything nice.  As a result, Cinnamon was adopted and has gone to her forever home!  Read the profile that helped Cinnamon get adopted below.

 

There’s only one thing sweeter than a SWEET-HEART and that’s CINNAMON!  She is the most beautiful brown-orange and gray little kitty who just wants to curl up in your lap like a cinnamon roll!

All she wants are gentle pets along her smooth furry coat. You can count on her to purr and purr all day in your cozy lap.

Cinnamon is only three years old! Her green eyes sparkle like the purest sugar!  She’s playful, well mannered and ready to give you all of her heart.

 

 

Hook, Line, But Fortunately No Sinker

I cannot stress strongly enough the service you will be doing for wildlife by picking up derelict fishing line and gear whenever and wherever you encounter it.  A little over a month ago, a seal released by PAWS lost her life when she became entangled in fishing line and tackle offshore in Edmonds, WA, and here at the wildlife center we see a steady stream of patients suffering from ingested hooks or line-entanglement injuries.  The most recent of these patients was a male Lesser Scaup.

The scaup had been found sitting on a beach with a fishing hook stuck in his bill and line tangled around his body.  The line had caused abrasions on the leading edge of both wings, and the bird was thin, weak and dehydrated from struggling to free himself.  He also had very dirty and disheveled feathers from his ordeal.  After receiving several days of care at Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center on San Juan Island, the scaup was transferred to PAWS for additional care.

It took about two weeks for the Lesser Scaup to regain his strength and completely restore his waterproofing.  He was reluctant to eat while in captivity, so his meals were delivered mostly via a gavage tube.  His wounds healed well and he began to dive, swim and generally behave as a wild scaup should.  He was returned to the wild on April 17.  He accepted his second chance eagerly, and we hope that he will not have a repeat encounter with derelict fishing gear in the future.  I hope that you will do your part to make that possible.