SUCCESS STORIES

Foster Foxes
In 2005 we came to have fox kits to raise. Their mother was killed due to the unwarranted fear of people. This mother was unfortunate enough to pick a trailer park to raise her kits in. She found the perfect place in a scrub pile the trailer park had started with a dumping site for trees, branches, etc. The people feared rabies even though the mother showed no signs of the disease. They set traps and left the mother in the trap with no water until the poor mother beat herself to death trying to get to her babies. This left her kits to be raised by us. We were able to remove them from the brush pile. We kept our contact to a minimum so they would not be imprinted and they were successfully placed back into the wild in a very large protected area. LARGER PHOTO

Amiable Armadillo
We were given a very young armadillo that had gotten separated from its mother. With a lot of research and help from others, we were able to raise the baby to an adult size and release it into the wild with no human impact. Armadillo are very illusive and we do not get very many. The mother keeps them very close and they are not seen typically in neighborhoods or high traffic areas. PHOTOS

Dear Deer
In 2004 a beautiful four-week-old fawn was caught up in a barbed wire fence—a tangled mess. Her mother had given up hope and left her fawn in her dash from danger. The fawn was probably trying to keep up with mom when she became entangled in the fence. Immediately we knew it did not look good for this brave little girl, except that she still had a lot of spirit in her. She had almost severed her foot and totally dislocated her leg from her shoulder. The only hope she had of a recovery was to remove the entire leg. After the procedure she started to get around and was eating very well. I did not take long before she was able to go outside and be in a cage near other adult deer. She was very active and in just a few months was introduced into the herd. Due to her handicap she became very imprinted on humans and is unable to be released. She was able to run up and down the hill and it became very hard to tell which deer was walking and running on three legs! In 2006 she became pregnant and had her very own fawn. She is an excellent mother and likes to show her baby off. She has come full circle and is living a full and rewarding life with her own kind. Even though we normally gauge success on how soon an animal can be released into the wild—this is one exception. A badly injured deer is alive and enjoying motherhood. We call that success too!



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