Bluebird Farm- (Cara Petricca/ Animal Sanctuary)

06/15/2026

05/09/2026

I once had a pest control company tell me I was flat out lying when I said that when you trap/relocate a Mama raccoon with her babies she will abandon them.
Earlier last year, we took in a mama raccoon that had been trapped with her babies by pest control. The property wouldn't allow us to release/ guide through humane eviction, and they were going to be killed, so we took them.
Mama raccoon had a warm den here, fresh food and water, a safe space. As well as space away from us. However, she still didn't FEEL safe. She still didn't know this place. This wasn't one of HER dens.
And despite our best attempts, she didn't want anything to do with her babies while here.
Now imagine a mama alone in the woods, left somewhere unknown, with her babies. Do you really think she will be able to care for them?
No.
It's absolutely appalling that company continues to trap/release mamas with babies, who I know suffer slow deaths out in the forest alone.
PLEASE always use humane eviction when handling wildlife issues! There are SO many ways to get wildlife to move on, on their own, without trapping/relocating/creating orphans!!
There are still at least two pest control companies locally that tell people don't worry if there are babies! We will take them to a rehabber.
There aren't enough room for all those babies.
One year, ONE DAY, a pest control company called me on 10 baby raccoons whose moms they'd relocated.
10 babies all made orphaned in ONE SINGLE DAY!
They had 24 hrs to find a licensed center and we weren't licensed at that time. We gave them number after number, but at the end of the day all those babies ended up euthanized because there was nowhere for them to go.
This is one of many reasons Wildlife rehabbers are needed in Colorado.
This is one of many reasons why it's so important we get our license back.

What is Humane eviction?
Humane eviction is the idea of getting the animal to leave on their own, by making the environment uncomfortable.
Wildlife like Squirrels and raccoons, will have multiple den sites in case something happens to one of them.
If you have a raccoon denning in a place like your attic or shed, you could choose to leave them be. It' won't be long before the babies are raised and they move along.
However, we understand a lot of folks don't want to do that.
Great ways to get raccoons to leave are to put bright lights in the area that stay on all night long. Noise, like a radio being left on constantly in the area is also a great method.
Once you know mom has gone and taken ALL of her babies, sealing their route in will prevent other wildlife from taking advantage.
Humane eviction guide for raccoons: http://www.urbanwildliferescue.org/humane/raccoons.htm

PayPal : https://www.paypal.com/US/fundraiser/charity/3916868

Venmo :

04/25/2026

If you find a babybird who needs help, do not give him anything to eat or drink unless a bird rehabber has advised you to. Many of the birds rehabbers receive die because finders have put food or liquid in their mouth. Songbirds are very fragile and easily develop aspiration pneumonia from improper feeding. Thank you, Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, for this important reminder.

04/17/2026

Most of the baby bunnies people “rescue” every spring never needed help.

We’re getting call after call from people finding nests in their yards and panicking, and I get it. They look tiny and helpless so your first instinct is to step in.

But their mom isn’t gone. She’s doing exactly what she’s supposed to do. She stays away to avoid predators and only comes back a couple times a day to feed them.

What looks like abandonment is actually really good parenting.

These nests are often just a small patch of fur and grass right in your lawn. Dogs find them, lawnmowers hit them. People accidentally disturb them trying to check on them. That’s when they actually end up needing rescue.

If you find a nest, protect it, don’t move it.
• Keep pets away
• Avoid mowing that area
• Use something like a laundry basket during the day, with a gap for mom
• Put up an inexpensive temporary fence
• Leash your pets

I know it feels wrong to leave them, but leaving them alone is often what keeps them alive.

I’ll share some temporary fencing ideas in the comments, but honestly, a leash goes a long way. These babies are only there for a short time.

Sometimes helping wildlife looks like stepping back and letting a mother do her job 🤍

04/13/2026

ATTENTION MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS.....

MA Residents TAKE ACTION: https://bit.ly/UrgentActionToday

That link is to a sample fill in letter and sends it for you! Please fill it out and add personal comments in that section! Makes it a personal appeal.

This Wednesday, April 15, the MA State Senate will vote on whether to adopt a proposal to phase out the use of anticoagulant rodenticides that are poisoning thousands of wildlife and pets in Massachusetts every year.

An amendment to the Mass Ready Act is pending, and if it’s adopted, it will help ensure that our state phases out the use of anticoagulant rodenticides.

Please contact your legislators today! We need them to hear from as many supporters as possible before they vote this Wednesday. Let’s get this amendment passed to protect our wildlife and pets!

04/12/2026

One of my BIG time soapbox lecture items! Be a RESPONSIBLE pet owner! The disease is called Canine Distemper. Our Wildlife is dying because of your unvaccinated pets!

Geaux Wild Rehab

Vaccinating our pets isn’t just about protecting them its about protecting the wildlife around us too.

When cats and dogs are not vaccinated, they can carry and spread these viruses into the environment through saliva, urine, f***s, and shared spaces. Wildlife, especially young, vulnerable animals, are then exposed without any protection.

This red fox kit in the photo is one of those victims. He didn’t get a second chance. Distemper is a devastating virus that is always fatal in wild animals like foxes, raccoons, and skunks.

All it takes is one unvaccinated pet interacting with the environment - walking through a yard, visiting a park, or encountering wildlife to start a chain reaction. Our domestic animals can act as a bridge carrying deadly diseases straight into wild populations that have no defense.

Vaccinating your cats and dogs is one of the simplest and most impactful ways to protect not only them but the native wildlife we share this world with

I met the finders of this fox kit at our vet clinic yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, when the kit was found, it was having a seizure. By the time we met at the clinic, it had already passed. The vet strongly felt this was distemper.

04/07/2026

Are you one of the heroes who, despite feeling squeamish, checks for babies when you see a dead opossum? Awesome!

But you may not be sure what to do you find little pink jellybeans in the pouch. In the earliest weeks of development, opossums are hairless, translucent, and fused to the mother’s ni**le. At that stage of development, we recommend simply leaving them alone so they can go to opossum heaven with their mommy.

Think of it this way: if a pregnant dog got hit by a car and killed, would you try to deliver her embryonic puppies? Marsupials like opossums use their pouch like a womb. At the stage when the embryos are still fused to the mother’s ni**le, they are developmentally similar to early embryos of placental mammals. When removed from this “womb,” their chances of survival are near zero.

Trying to save them may cause more pain. If they are forcibly pulled from the mother’s ni**le, they can suffer catastrophic injuries and may die. If the ni**le is cut from the mother, the joey will slowly swallow and digest a rotting piece of flesh, something their bodies simply can’t do yet.

A few rescues have made claims that they can save babies this young and smaller, but we are skeptical. While older joeys can be tube-fed easily, feeding tubes small enough for the tiniest joeys simply don’t exist. Foster moms aren’t really a viable option at this stage, either: a joey can fuse to a ni**le only once, when it is just minutes old, and won’t be able to reattach to a new mom. (Older joeys that have begun to detach from the ni**le can do fine with foster moms, though.)

While we wish that each and every animal could be saved, the sad reality is that some opossums are simply too early in their development to be viable, and it is kindest to let them pass with their mother, without the stress and pain of being forcefully pulled from her body.

So where’s the line? Different rehabilitators have different policies, but we advise finders to remove joeys only if they detach from the ni**le with a few gentle tugs. If you have to pull with force or cut the ni**le, we believe that’s a sign that the babies are still just embryos and should be allowed to pass peacefully.

03/06/2026

Please donate if you can. They do such vital work.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GWxViAegA/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Friends, we are having a bit of an emergency at our Cape hospital and we could really use your help!

Last week’s blizzard did a lot of damage to our Cape facility. While we were without power for several days our sprinkler pipes burst, flooding part of the building, and two of our emergency generators failed after running around the clock to keep wildlife patients warm.

Now we have learned that the furnace and cooling system in our wards recovery building also needs to be replaced. These rooms need carefully controlled temperatures for different species throughout the year. We have been able to temporarily accommodate patients in other areas, but with baby season just a few weeks away, we are desperate to get this done before we'll be needing the space, plus we just need a safe and sustainable long term solution.

To replace the broken equipment serving this portion of the building we need to raise $18,500. To replace the full system and the more than 20 year old equipment that was strongly recommended for replacement, we need to raise $38,000.

If you are able, please consider making an emergency gift to help us get this critical equipment replaced and keep our patients comfortable and our staff safe as we continue caring for wildlife. Thank you so much for your support, we really can't do it without you!

If you are able to make a donation to help, you can find the 🔗 in the comments.