Trish Ann Konieczny - Raccoon Gangs, Pigeons Gone Bad, and Other Animal Adventures

TEN PEAKS PRESS

EUGENE, OREGON

Bible translations quoted in this book can be found at end of the book.

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Cover design by Faceout Studio, Tim Green

Cover photo Eric Isselee, Mrs_ya / Shutterstock

Interior designer Rockwell Davis

Photos Trish Ann Konieczny

Photo editor Dawn Konieczny

Back cover photo 2021 Mickey and Stacy Agee

Illustrations Lydia Charboneau 2021 Trish Ann Konieczny

Names and minor details have been changed in the real-life stories shared in this book to protect the privacy of the individuals mentioned.

Information on zoonotic diseases and the risks associated with handling wildlife given in these pages is general in nature. This information is not professional medical counsel and should not be viewed as such. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any liability for possible adverse consequences as a result of the information contained herein.

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Raccoon Gangs, Pigeons Gone Bad, and Other Animal Adventures

Copyright 2022 by Trish Ann Konieczny

Published by Ten Peaks Press, an imprint of Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

ISBN 978-0-7369-8417-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8418-8 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021937930

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To the Lion of Judah,
in whose care every creature resides,
particularly here in the Lions Den.

For all the animals of the forest are mine [says the Lord],
and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird on the mountains,
and all the animals of the field are mine.

P SALM 50:10-11

CONTENTS

You called out in distress, and I rescued you.

P SALM 81:7 HCSB

S omethings crying outside, and it wont stop! my husband, Michael, lamented late one evening. I keep hearing it again and again. We ought to go out and find it.

So he did. A tiny raccoon kit with its eyes not yet open was letting us know it was not happy! Apparently, it had fallen quite some distance out of the monster cottonwood tree not far from our bedroom window, and its momma had not been down or around to rescue it yet. True to form, and because Im supposedly the animal nut, Michael hauled this kit into the house and said to me, What are you going to do with it?

All curled up in the bottom of a five-gallon bucket, the little raccoon was emitting a noise that was echoing alarmingly around our heads. Anything to stop that screeching , I thought to myself. Lets call a wildlife rehabilitator to find out what we should do with it, I said aloud.

We found a number online for someone who rescued wildlife in our county and gave her a call.

Reunite it with its mother; thats the best thing for it, she said. And heres how

She gave us detailed instructions that involved putting the kit outside in a loosely covered container under the tree so its mother could retrieve it during the night. She said trying to reunite babies with mothers that way often worked well, and she was quite sure this small ringtail would be safely back in its raccoon family fold by morning.

We followed her instructions to the letter and went to bed. Figuring wed done the best we could, I didnt think much more about it and drifted off to sleep. But Michael is a lighter sleeper than I am. Even the vibrating of our phonesthe vibrating, mind you, not the ringingcan wake him out of a sound sleep. And the wild things around our neck of the woods make a lot of nighttime noise. An owl is always hooting, coyotes are howling, or some late-night critter is squeaking outside the window. So my husband is awakened a lot.

This particular night, however, Michael found one sound even more distracting than all the rest. About 5:30 in the morning, bleary-eyed, he nudged me. I didnt sleep much at all. That raccoon baby is still crying! Its been crying all night! Im going out to take a look.

Thats when he discovered that it was raining raccoons. Or technically, it was raining raccoon kits. Down in the brush beneath the old cottonwood, he kept finding tiny raccoons, one after the other, each squirming around desperately in search of its mother. After several minutes of wading through the underbrush, he had come upon four of them.

Again he brought the tiny raccoons into the house, all curled up in the bottom of the bucket, and asked me, true to form, What are you going to do with all these babies now?

If youve never heard a baby raccoon screeching, youve missed out on one of lifes most pitiable experiences, not to mention one of lifes loudest distractions. (Count your blessings.) One baby screeching last night was pitiful enough, but four is unbearable! I thought to myself. Well have to call the wildlife rehabilitator back to see what to do next, I said aloud.

I went into another room, hoping to be able to hear myself think, and got on the phone. Im calling to give you a report on the raccoon kit from last night. We did exactly as you said and put it out in a loosely covered container so its mother could retrieve it during the night. She never came for it, and now three more babies have rained down from the tree. There are four in all, and one seems quite weak.

Thats not good! she said. Theyre probably dehydrated. If Momma had been there during the night, theyd have full bellies and be content. They wouldnt have been crawling around last night and falling out of the den. They were trying to find her, but apparently she has disappeared. Youd better bring them in to me.

So these four loud little fuzzy heads and I got into the car and traveled 45 minutes to the rehabbers house. Thankfully, the kits were mostly quiet on the way, either lulled to sleep or terrified by the cars noise and motion. It had been a long night for us all, and I was looking forward to getting the poor little things into the hands of an expert and traveling back to my own nest in peace.

Do or Die

Oh my, yes, theyre very dehydrated, this rehabilitation expert said, weighing and examining the tiny ring-tailed orphans on our arrival. I dont know where their momma is, but these little ones have not been fed in quite a while. Why dont you help me get some electrolytes into them?