Young and VERY Traumatized

As if it isn't bad enough to have your mother attacked and killed in front of you and then to watch your brothers and sisters be killed, it must be horrifying to know that you will be next!  That's exactly what my newest babies went through on Thursday night.
I'm so proud of one of my students for coming to tell me that she knew of some baby opossums that needed help.  I'm also so proud that her whole family tried to help these guys too!  This sweet little girl came to me first thing on Friday morning and said "Mrs. Truex, I know you save animals and our dog killed a possum last night.  It killed some babies too, but there are 4 that are still alive!"  I asked for her mom's number and called.  Heath picked them up and to his horror, one had an eyeball hanging out!  I was sure that little guy would have to be euthanized, but thank goodness for a knowledgeable vet!  Not many vets will even see wildlife, much less really know much about wildlife!  That's a whole other blog post in itself!  He knew that opossums do fine with just one eye and removed it.  One little guy passed away on me within a couple of hours.  Louise, my mentor, told me that it's pretty rare to get injured babies, but for those that know me it isn't a surprise for ME to have something "rare" happen.  ALL of these babies have injuries and were obviously very traumatized.  Despite my best efforts they weren't interested in eating and I had to tube feed these babies.  On intake they weighed around 68 grams.  In 2 days they are all around 100 grams.  Can you say dehydrated???  Now what you all have been anticipating...PICTURES!!!  I must apologize for the quality, but I'm sure you all remember being young and broke!  For those that don't know, I'm only 27 and a teacher.  LOL!



These 2 babies are NOT being housed together, but I wanted to show that even though they are about the same weight, the one on the right is less developed.  The one on the left was the first baby I got and the one on the right is one of the new injured ones.

Same ones without the flash.

Same

Here are 2 from the 2nd litter I got.  One is much smaller than the rest.  Can't really tell from this pic, but aren't they soooooo cute!

Here's the one with the missing eye.  The eye on your right is missing.  You can see it looks squinted.  

This one has an injured ear.  You probably can't tell because it's so dark, but the ear on your left is red.

Today is EASTER!  And I still have little cottontail bunnies!  Unfortunately, I just went to feed the baby bunnies and one was not doing well.  He was obviously dying so I held him for the last few moments of his life.  I don't understand what happened, because it seemed to be doing so well.  He had been bitten by a cat and received antibiotics.  He seems to have healed well, but it's just really hard to say.  As sad as it is, that is part of doing rehab.  It's definitely not my favorite part, but the good far outweighs the bad.  I'm hoping for a success release of the other 2 cottontails.  These guys are starting to eat dandelion greens and other green stuff on their own.  They will be going into an outdoor cage very soon if the weather ever clears up enough.

Again, sorry for the pics being so dark.  Gotta make due with what I've got for now.

Still kicking

All the baby animals are still alive and kicking!  They seem to be growing and developing normally.  Do you know how hard it is to have tiny, cute, fuzzy little rabbits that you can't pet and play with?  If I can raise them all the way until release it will be so rewarding though.  Just imagine...they will go on to reproduce and live life in the wild!  As I said in my last post, cottontails are notoriously hard to raise because they are so nervous and  tend to die from fear!  These guys are eating well and don't seem to be too scared.  I do have a very strict NO talking policy while I'm dealing with the rabbits.  This is to try to avoid spooking them.  The first day I had the rabbits, Heath made the mistake of coming into the room to ask me about something and I shot him a look that apparently was not the least bit friendly!  Sorry about that hun!

I am feeling really sleep deprived. I haven't slept well since February 6th, the day my Grandma passed away. We have learned so much about her life since she passed. I wish she would have shared all of these secrets with us. What hurts me most is that she went through all of these things alone. She never had to do that. I have to say my Grandma was a very strong woman. She was widowed the first time by the time she was my age (actually her mid 20s) and widowed the second time in her 40s. Thinking of my Grandma. I made the flower arrangement for her headstone.

I also recently opened 2 shops in CafePress.  I call one Danielle's Possum Park, though I don't really have a "possum park".  You know that song from "A Goofy Movie"?  The "Lester's Possum Park?  Any money that I make from these shops will go directly to caring for animals (wildlife and rescue dogs).  Recently I've been working really hard to make extra money to help care for all of these animals.  Go on over and check out my shops.  I have some cute products!  I think they are cute anyway!  Each shop has different prints so check them both out.  (Just click on the shop name to go to the link. "Danielle's Animal Prints"  or  "Danielle's Possum Park")   Danielle's Animal Prints  and   Danielle's Possum Park

Cat vs. Rabbit

I got a message today from a very nice lady named Pam.  Her grandson is one of my students.  Her cat had brought up some baby cottontails.  OH MY GOSH!!!  My first thought was "they will all die on me".  Cottontails are notoriously hard to raise.  Quite often they die of fear!  EEK!!!  I can understand how they feel because the fear of trying to raise these guys was enough to nearly make me kill over!  However, the challenge coupled with the interest in learning about rabbits made me jump at the opportunity.  When I arrived at Pam's house, I was greeted by her grandson and he showed me everywhere that he thought the bunny's nest might be.  We looked all around, but couldn't seem to locate the nest.  As always, I had to give Lynne from HAWK Center a call to see what in the world I needed to do!  Thank you so much for your help Lynne.  

Heath took these pictures while I was giving them some antibiotics to help ward off any infection from the cat. 

3 Big Bad Opossums!

I got 3 new baby opossums today.  They weigh right around 72 grams.  Only 10 grams more than the baby I've had for a week, but they look so much more developed than she does.  It's amazing how much they can grow and develop in a week or 2!  I'm sorry if the pictures are a little dark.  Opossums are nocturnal so I try to not to keep it too bright in their room.  

 I wanted to share this picture of the first baby.  This was just a couple of days ago, but I wanted you to be able to see the difference between this girl and the larger ones.

 Here they are chowing down!  At this age, they are eating almost on their own, but will be drinking formula for a while still.

 Though very small and so adorable, they do have their natural instincts.  When I get too close they open their mouths.  Not to bite, but so that they look big, mean and scary!  Are you scared yet?

You may see some lumps.  They are getting wet cat food in their formula to begin weaning them off of the formula, but as I said before it will still be a while before they are completely weaned.

 The one crawling up the shirt is the first one.  Look how much she has grown in just a week!  I spoke with my mentor, Louise, earlier and though we wouldn't normally want to mix litters since this little girl was all alone and they are very close in age, we have decided to put them together.  They adjusted really well and she seems to really enjoy having some company.

Guess what?!  They are all girls!!!  All 4 have tiny little pouches.

Reflection

Today has been a day of reflection.  I have come to realize that my husband and I have been through some of the toughest things a couple could be through during a relationship, but somehow we always find a way to make it through those hardships.  At times I could scream at the top of my lungs with frustration, but somehow make it back to that place of love and understanding again.  We have had our home destroyed multiple times.  Our old mobile home had the entire roof torn off during a storm, it caught fire 3 times (once was very close to being devastating, but it didn't burn down), water leaks that ruined walls and floors, etc.  All of this AFTER we had replaced the siding, some flooring, drywall, and eventually a new roof.  We have had to face infertility.  That was the #1 thing that almost split us up.  If you have never dealt with infertility, you can't possibly understand the ups and downs (gosh downs don't even describe it) that someone goes through.  Every appointment you go to, you just hope that there will be some more options, but then there aren't any.  Every month you take several pregnancy tests just to end up seeing a negative sign.  I actually still take a test now and then just to see.  It was harder for Heath to overcome than me.  My comfort came through my animals and the difference I can make in the lives of these creatures that can't care for themselves.  My animals are my pride and joy!  Nothing makes me feel better than to get an animal that is near death and make them healthy again.  Yes, there are hard choices that sometimes have to be made and sometimes I have to let them go, but I find comfort that they get to spend their last moments surrounded by love and compassion.  I feel truly blessed to have a husband that understands my heart and that shares this love and care of animals with me.

Preparing to go to Utah

I am going to Utah for the first time in June.  I'm so excited, because I will be getting to see a lot of family that I've never met.  This trip is going to be bitter sweet though.  My grandmother passed away a couple of months ago.  Her funeral was the first time I ever got to meet my uncles, great aunt, and cousins.  We also found out shortly after Grandma passed away that she had another daughter that she gave up for adoption.  Her name is Janiel.  We found letters while going through her things and thought that she had a pen pal.  I found the person and her children on Facebook (Facebook is amazing!).  I contacted the lady's daughter, Kori, and this whole long hidden secret emerged.  Now I know what type of person my Grandma was.  She had lived a very hard life and had lived through so many hard circumstances.  She loved children and her family.  I can't imagine the agony she went through when making the decision to give up a child and to keep this to herself forever.  She never had to go through this alone and I wish she had just told us.  I'm not really sure why she didn't, but when I put myself in her shoes, I can actually feel the pain that she must have felt for all those years.


I feel so blessed that Janiel and her whole family has been so open to getting to know us and allowing us to get to know them.  It's going to be painful to go to Utah, because my Grandmother visited family there every year and I always wanted to go with her.  But I am so excited to meet this whole new family that I never knew I had.  I love you Grandma and miss you every day that you are gone.

An Adventure to Oklahoma

I had the pleasure of transporting 2 tiny little creatures to Oklahoma to be rehabilitated.  Lynne Slater, founder of
HAWK Center (Helping Arkansas Wild "Kritters"), asked for assistance in transporting a Red Bat and a baby Muskrat.   With Lynne's permission I am posting pictures from her site for all of you to see! Please consider donating or volunteering.  HAWK Center is operated 100% by donations and volunteers.  You can visit HAWK Center's site by going to http://www.hawkcenter.org/   From there you can send Lynne a message and she can give you information on how you can donate or volunteer!  Enjoy the pics!


Baby Muskrat-The gentleman that found this little guy thought it was a baby beaver.  Can you see the resemblance?  Visit HAWK Center's page you can see more pictures of this little guy!

Red Bat-Visit HAWK Center's page for more pictures.

Sad news

I'm up at 3:30 am because it's time to feed the babies!  The boy still wasn't doing very good, but I fed him anyway.  When I went back to check on him, he had passed away.  The little girl did GREAT for feeding time.  She throws a fit as soon as I walk into the room.  She starts making her "chook"ing sound.  That's how they call for their mom.  I'm sure it's pretty confusing to be warm and safe inside of mom's pouch then suddenly to be out into the big wide open world.  I hope she continues to do well.  After feeding, I did at least take a second to get a couple of pictures.  Not the best, but it's pretty hard to hold a squirming little opossum in one hand while taking a picture with the other, but at least you get to see her sweet little face!!!  I promise to post more as I go along.

I may be transporting a couple of little critters tomorrow.  There is a baby muskrat and a bat that need to go to other rehabbers!  Maybe I can sneak a couple of  pics of them along the way!

New Possum babies!

Went to Russellville today for a dog adoption.  We had a VERY successful adoption day.  3 dogs got adopted!!!  Thank you to the 3 families that adopted these wonderful dogs.




 I also got 2 babies opossums!  They have their eyes open and hopefully have a better chance at making it.  One doesn't seem to be doing so well, but these little guys were found in the middle of the road.  The people couldn't even find the mom.  It's hard to know how long they were out in the road, how cold they got, etc.  I guess it will be feeding time every 3 hours for a while!!!  Everyone wish me luck and I promise I will get some pictures posted ASAP!!!

Possum rehab-New babies!

So I decided to become a wildlife rehabilitator.  First, I had to find someone who would take me on and be my mentor.  I was fortunate enough to find a wonderful lady name Louise who has had a lot of experience with opossums.  My dads LEAST favorite animal, but I think they are kind of cute!  Well now I think they are the most amazing animal!  Then I find a vet that agrees to work with me and get a signature from the county saying that rehabilitating wildlife in my home isn't against any ordinances.  Now it's time to get to work!
We were driving down Hwy 64 near Alma when I saw an opossum that had been hit.  So I asked my husband to turn around to check its pouch.  To my HORROR the opossum started moving!  Even more to my horror it's jaw was completely destroyed AND it had very small pink babies.  Of course, I wasn't able to contact a vet that night.  Most won't see an opossum.  I guess they are too scary or something!  After an agonizing night of hoping by some miracle it might not be as bad as I thought it would be, we took her to the vet.  Turns out that I was right.  It's pretty bad and it would take several surgeries to correct her broken jaw.  I had to make the sad decision to euthanize her, but first I needed to remove the babies.  The vet sedated her so that I could do it with the least amount of stress possible.  I pulled the first baby, second baby, 3rd...WOW when am I going to quit pulling babies out of her pouch?!  She had 10 in there and they were small.  Even though I knew they probably wouldn't make it, I had to try.
First attempt at tube feeding an 8 gram opossum (see pic below of a baby next to a AA battery)...I got tubes down most.  This continued all day.  The last feeding for the night took 3 hours.  I was famished after not eating all day so decided I would eat and then get back to feeding AGAIN!  When Heath walked into the room to carry them out to me, he discovered ALL of them had died.  WHAT???  In an hour, they all had died.  The heating pad was too hot and I guess they were too small to move away from it.  So my first attempt at rehab was a complete bust!  What a disappointment?  They ALL died and it was ALL my fault!  Yes, at least I tried, but it's always sad to lose a whole litter.

It's 3 weeks later now and I got an email a few hours ago that I will be getting more babies tomorrow!  I'm ready this time!  I won't make the same mistakes and definitely won't let my guard down!  These babies are MUCH larger and much more viable.  I will keep everyone updated and get pics up ASAP!  So keep checking back!  Hope to see you soon!

Introducing my life

So this is my first attempt at blogging and while I'm excited, I am also nervous.  Writing is not my forte, but I feel that I can offer some knowledge and at least a good laugh now and then.  So I just want to welcome everyone to my crazy life.  My husband and I have nearly 40 animals of our own and are currently fostering 17 rescue dogs.  Yes I know that sounds crazy, but I count my chickens and ducks in that number.  They are my pets too. My husband also has snakes and spiders.  I'll tell more about all of that later.
We have been married for almost 5 years now and I'm so fortunate to have met a fellow animal lover.  That's all for now.  I look forward to hearing from you all and sharing my life with anyone interested!