Little Hands was just a few weeks old when he was found all alone on the side of the road. It was early June, and all theĀ wildlife rescuesĀ and rehabilitators in the area were already at capacity.
āWhen you ask what you should do with [an orphaned raccoon], they say, āLeave it alone and let nature take its course,ā or āYou can take it to a vet and they will have to euthanize it,āā Nikki Robinson, who works in wildlife rehabilitation, told The Dodo. āThat broke my heart. I couldnāt let that happen!ā
While Robinson was working full-time, her mom, Linda, was semi-retired and couldĀ bottle-feedĀ a babyĀ up to five times a day. So after Robinson made it clear that grandchildren were not on the horizon, Linda, reluctantly, became Little Handsā mom.
āThe first time she bottle-fed himĀ and heĀ looked up at her, she just kind of melted,ā Robinson said. āShe treated him very sweetly early on because they like to be touched a lot. So she created a bond with him, even knowing heād go back to the wild at some point.ā
Little Hands grew up strong, and by the end of the summer, was ready to strike out on his own.
āThey get a soft release and go out on her property and live under the deck for a bit, and sheāll leave food out until they wander off and find their own way,ā Robinson said. āBut Little Hands remained friendly with the whole family and he was very kind and sweet with us.ā
ā[My mom] has a porch swing where she sits outside, and he would come up and literally crawl onto the swing and sit beside her and just want his butt and chin scratched,ā Robinson said. āHe wanted his snuggles, then heād have his food and wander off.ā
For three years, Little Hands has lived in the wild independently ā but continues to returnĀ to the house where he was raised just to snuggle with his mom.
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