sora, baby cottontail, bats

Babies are here!! The squirrel and rabbit nurseries are filling up as we speak!

This baby cottontail rabbit has a broken arm from a dog:( He's waking up from anesthesia in this picture. Many, many of our baby rabbits come in b/c dogs and cats got a hold of them. Even more reason to keep your cats indoors (all the time!) and keep an eye on your dog when it's outside.

And with most uninjured babies--when in doubt--put them back in the nest! The smell thing is a myth and 90% of the time, mom will keep on taking care of them (which is better than a rehab center's success rate with babies...)

I had one person refuse to put baby rabbits back in their nest b/c her dog was in the yard. I excitedly told her that rabbits grow up fast, and all she had to do was leash her dog for 10 days and the rabbits would be gone! Yay! Her reply, "He's never been on a leash. I tried taking him out front today and he just wouldn't go on the leash. He won't go [to the bathroom] on the leash and is in the backyard all day" Your dog doesn't know how to go to the bathroom on a leash? So I replied, "You know, I bet if you just take him on a long walk he'll go--that usually helps most dogs" to which she came up with a million excuses, all ended with "he doesn't know how to be on a leash". That's bullcrap. Given enough time, a dog will do his duties wherever he can outside. Do you think the dog is really thinking, "Dang, I'm leashed--I better hold it until i get in the backyard!" NO! he's probably saying, "Dang, my owner is lazy--I just didn't have to go during that 3 minute walk"

Just an FYI--the purpose of walking your dog isn't just to give them time to go to the bathroom or to give them exercise--it's also a bonding time--time for you to spend with your dog. Needed time together.

After a long conversation, I wasn't convincing enough. She brought the bunnies into us. They were so small, they didn't have a chance for survival in a rehabilitation center. You can guess what happened next *sigh* :( all b/c a lady didn't want to walk her dog.

On the brighter side, here is a Sora (a marsh bird) that came in with some head trauma. She's doing well and will hopefully be released soon!

and here is a picture of a big brown bat. b/c bats are awesome:) don't forget--they'll be helping the bug population in your yard down! Plant some trees to encourage them to roost!