Critter Newsletter for June 2008

June 2008 was a pretty quiet month at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue, but still partially heartbreaking as well. More about that after a few words.

For those who have not heard it yet, I did receive my wildlife rehabilitation permit. FINALLY! I now can take in all small mammals except endangered species, fawns, foxes, or coyotes. I decided against skunks for obvious reasons.

Future plans include local as well as online fundraisers in order to build more outside enclosures. At the moment I have only one enclosure which is 10 x 10 x 10. I need at least 2 more of the same size, so I can accept more animals.

I can't take in any raccoons for example, because I can hardly put them together with the squirrels and the birds. I need different enclosures for them. Opossums and rabbits need a place to grow up too.

However, funding is tight at the moment, so I am hoping to get some local stores to pitch in with materials that they might not need anymore, such as damaged merchandise, and hopefully some physical help as well.

Once the material is available, maybe a sports team or a school class or such would have a good time doing something good for the animals and have the opportunity to learn how to build something with their own hands. I would like to see winners in every corner.

We are also looking for people that want to help out with these fundraiser events. I personally do not have the time (nor the guts to be honest) to go to the stores and ask directly for free stuff.

So, somebody who has good people skills is urgently needed at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue, which is also a registered non-profit organization with a Board of Directors. Since we are brand-new, this too is still in the early development phase and we consider adding new directors as they present themselves.

But enough about the technical stuff, here are the critters:

Ducklings (www.rainbowwildlife.com)

The arrival of the month had to be 16 little mallard ducklings from the Tarleton Campus. Animal Control was called to remove the newly hatched ducklings and upon his arrival, the mother took off never to be seen again.

Unfortunately due to stress and hours without heat, only 2 ducklings survived the entire ordeal. They are doing great and hopefully they will grow up so they can be released back to the wild.

Birds (www.rainbowwildlife.com)

2 Purple Martins, a Mourning Dove, a Pigeon, a Chimney Swift, and a couple of sparrows made their way through here as well. For most of them it was just a short holding period, since I do not have a bird permit.

However, the Starling is not protected and legal for me to raise, so I did exactly that.

I named him (her?) Howdy Doody! He's quite a character and growing way to fast!

Squirrels (www.squirrel-rescue.com)

I released 4 squirrels this month and have one little boy left. I named him Jesse. He the meanest squirrel I ever had!!! He attacks the syringe before he "allows" it to feed him, hehe.

Puppies (www.puppyeducation.com)

The shelter received a litter of 4 puppies that look like a mix between a Chihuahua and a Beagle. 2 of the pups died. I named the 2 survivors Dinky and Slink.

Check our PuppyBlog for daily updates including movies!

Kittens (www.kittenbaby.com)

3 orphaned kittens from 3 different litters have found their way to our little rescue. One just came in this morning, a little Siamese. But he is in very bad shape and I have serious doubts that he'll survive, but then again...kittens and their 9 lives have surprised me more than once!

Pets

last but not least, my own pets: the Great Danes Olliver and Olivia, the Yellow Labradors Honey and Butters, our Senior Chihuahua/Cocker Mix Sandy, and the 4 cats.

We had some fun at the lake with the dogs after the rabies quarantine was finally over.

Also watch the Great Danes babysitting the Chihuahua Mix Pups, it's hillarious!

Other Notes

I want to say THANK YOU to all you good folks who lent a helping hand this month. Some of you donated some money, some of you sent me milkreplacer and other needed items from my Wishlist, and some of you donated time and ideas!

I apologize if this newsletter looks kindof funny. I'm using a new script which is not quite perfected yet!

I hope ya'll have a great summer and remember: KEEP YOUR PETS COOL TOO!