Young - Pumpkin--The Raccoon Who Thought She Was a Dog

To my amazing parents, Peter and Rosie, for caring and nurturing our fur children. Mum, we wouldnt be able to do half the things we do without you. Dad, thank you for turning every insect, mammal, or reptile into a George. Kyle, thank you for being Pumpkins social media guru and for always listening to constant tales of our furry bandit! Edward, thank you for staying up late and helping me make edits to all of the photos. Who else could I have called at ten at night to help calm my nerves! Steven and Hayley, thank you for always being so patient with the constant Pumpkin chat! Celine, that goes for you too. And for sharing Kyle when things Hit the fan! and for listening to my constant worries! Alexis, thank you for giving me the confidence to follow my passions and for always supporting me.

Gilly, thank you for looking after our little Pumps during the first few days of her new life, and to Molly, for giving her that lovely name. Kim Aranha, thank you so much for being a part of the book, and for everything you do for the Bahamas Humane Society, and for the animals in the Bahamas! Sam and Leean from Lovesniffys, thank you for always supplying Pumpkin with the most delectable treats! Thank you, Alex Cortani, for all your help with the Web development and designs. To the wonderful people at the Dodo, thank you for sharing Pumpkins story. You helped take us on this incredible journey! Alex Slater, thank you for being an amazing support through this whole crazy journey. You have been above and beyond from day one! Alicia Clancy, thanks to you and the whole team at St. Martins Press for being so patient and kind throughout the whole process of creating this fantastic book.

To the incredible fans of Pumpkin, you are the most supportive and loyal friends to our three girls. None of this would have been possible without you, and I will forever be grateful for your kindness and love that you bring my family and me. And to my amazing husband, Will. Thank you for being the most kind and patient man. What an adventure we have with our three furry girls! I love you! Nom nom nom. So this is what home tastes like!

Pumpkin is an island girl through and through but, unlike her wild cousins, she prefers to remain indoors. She enjoys air-conditioning, leftover tea every now and then, and feasting away on sunny-side up eggs. Her story is unique because not only does she reside in the Bahamas, but she also has decided to make Toffee and Oreo her lifelong friends, her sisters, mothers even. Toffee and Oreo are dogs, potcakes, to be precise, a Bahamian term used to describe mutts. No one really knows why they are called potcakes, and there are many different theories, mine being that they would eat leftover local Johnnycake bread from the pot. My husband, Will, and I found these two sisters on the side of the road when they were only eight weeks old.

They had a rough start into the world and were in horrendous condition. Toffee had been hit by a car and had sustained a broken hip and a shattered knee, while Oreo had been badly beaten. We knew instantly that they were meant to be with us and we did everything we could to get them healthy and happy. It wasnt long before the two settled into their comfortable new lives, and they are now the madams of the house. Pumpkin came along nearly six years later, in October 2014, after a very unusually windy week in the Bahamas. The little raccoon fell out of a tree in my parents, Rosie and Peters, backyard when she was only one month old and suffered a broken leg.

When the mother didnt return, every effort was made to ensure that the tiny creature would have a fighting chance. With the help of friends and vets, we took her in. In the first few days of her new life, she lived with a family that had cared for injured raccoons before, and that is where a little girl called Molly thoughtfully named her Pumpkin. We never looked back. Every day Pumpkin grew stronger and braver, and when she met Toffee and Oreo, they developed an instant bond. The dogs watched over and protected her, and it wasnt long before Pumpkin began to follow her two new friends everywhere, never wanting to leave their sides.

It was a surprise to all of us to see these three misfits form such a beautiful connection. Oreo is like the mother, cuddling her and scolding her when she has had enough of Pumpkins bad behavior. She babied Pumpkin from the start and even tried to nurse her at one stage. Toffee always wants to run around with her or dig her out from under the covers of our bed when she has burrowed. Pumpkin began to act more and more like a dog with each passing day, preferring to stay on the ground like her sisters and copying everything else that they did! They are three very special animals, and I smile every day now that we are a family. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that people would take to Pumpkin and her daily adventures the way they have.

I started posting pictures on Instagram as a way for friends and family to follow her progress and see how well she was fitting in at her new home. It has been exciting and eye-opening to see her character develop and her bond with the two dogs grows stronger each day. What makes her little story so special is the way that these unlikely friends have formed an incredible relationship, and it shows that you can find love in the most unexpected places. Channeling my inner Simba. My hope is that you read this book and it gives you the warmth and happiness that it gave me to put all of my favorite pictures of Pumpkin, Toffee, and Oreo together.