Nutting Stream Wildlife Rehab Clinic

06/13/2026

How many can YOU count?

06/13/2026

06/13/2026

We have the beginning of self feeding! YES! Go babies go!!

06/12/2026

Fielder and Harriet are making giant strides! Fielder’s quarantine is up tomorrow but Harriet has until Tuesday and they stay together. So we wait a few more days. They have gained good weight. They’re feisty. They’re loud. They’re active. They’re pooping and peeing normally. They’ll tell you they are desperately starving…(THEY MOST CERTAINLY ARE NOT! 🤦🏻‍♀️😂😩🦝🦝), they have started nibbling bits of high protein, low sugar but sweet enough to be tasty fruity O’s AND…they are PLAYING and curious and content instead of depressed, full of parasites, sick, and mourning the loss of their family.

THIS is WHY wildlife rehabbers do what we do. We take tiny, innocent lives on the brink of death and bring them back. We give them a chance. We give them safety. We give them hope. We give them patience and understanding. We nurture. We feed them a proper, healthy diet. And we release them to live their naturally intended wild lives.

06/12/2026

Yep. 🦝💔🦝

❤️ Helpful post to share in other groups ❤️

I wanted to take some time and address the current baby raccoon CRISIS and what to do if you are unable to find placement. Some may disagree with my recommendations and that’s ok, I hate it too.

Things to keep in mind:

🦝Flystrike or maggots are an EMERGENCY 100% of the time
🦝It is illegal to possess ANY wildlife in Michigan without a permit. If you want to help raise babies legally reach out to a rehabber and become a subpermittee.
🦝It is NOT legal to own a pet raccoon in Michigan (no matter what google says) Besides that, raccoons make TERRIBLE pets!
🦝Raccoons cannot be raised alone, they absolutely have to be with other babies.
🦝Raccoons stay with mom for up to a year, any babies born this year are NOT old enough to be on their own yet.
🦝We all have families, homes, jobs, etc. and being a rehabber is a VOLUNTEER 24/7/365 position.
🦝All rehabbers are overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted. Going on intake hold is never something we want to do. Every single animal I have to turn away absolutely breaks me but we cannot sacrifice quality of care for quantity.

If you are both unable to find placement and unable to provide temporary care under the direction of a rehabber you have 2 choices:
1. Release the baby and “let nature take its course”
-This is one of the most inhumane things you can do to a young animal. They will 100% die a horrendously painful death from starvation, dehydration, parasites, predators etc. DO NOT DO THIS!!

2. Humane euthanasia (vet or animal control)
-We understand that no one wants to euthanize a baby (IT SUCKS) but sometimes hard decisions must be made in the best interest of the animal. If you had to choose between going to sleep peacefully or suffering immense pain for days, sometimes weeks, what would you choose?

Do the right thing, even when it’s tough!

Until we can educate the public on ways to coexist with native wildlife WITHOUT trapping/killing/relocating, the problem will continue to get worse and more animals will suffer.

Just out of curiosity I counted the number of calls/texts/messages I’ve gotten in the last week for the rescue. It feels like my phone is ringing constantly, apparently I was correct.

Facebook messenger:
14 today
101 since last Thursday

Rescue cell number:
6 calls today
75 calls since Thursday
7 texts today
37 text threads since Thursday

Almost 40 people PER DAY contacting me about wildlife. That’s also not including my personal cell,and personal facebook accounts. Overwhelming is a drastic understatement.

Something NEEDS to change!!!

💔 The baby below had his eye hanging out on intake. 💔

06/12/2026

A bunch of sleepy, full bellied joeys and one dreaming raccoon kit. (NOT in the same cage of course). Good night sweet babies. Sleep well and I’ll see you bright and early for your 6am breakfast. ☺️🥰

06/11/2026

So apparently two seemingly intelligent women have a bit of trouble counting to 10…. We have TEN opossum joeys….one was hiding in a different hanging nest. He went on walkabout while we weren’t looking. 😂 And if counting isn’t challenging enough….ALL TEN escaped overnight. There was the smallest gap in the cage corner and when I put my hand in the nest and there were none in there, I panicked. Panic was erased in seconds when I found all TEN snuggled together in the blanket on the outside base of the cage. Yes the cage is now as secure as Fort Knox.

Because we need to take a stroll down Sesame Street and visit the Count for some counting lessons…these kids are now named after Sesame Street characters:

🩵 Boys

Elmo
Bert
Ernie
Cookie Monster
Oscar the Grouch
Count von Count

🩷 Girls

Abby Cadabby
Rosita
Zoe
Prairie Dawn

Send a message to learn more

06/11/2026

We have some new guests at Nutting Stream. I’m overflowing with orphaned raccoon babies, but Virginia opossums are MUCH easier to care for! So I agreed to take them in. These 9 babies were found clinging to their mom who had been fatally hit by a car last night. Thanks to the kind woman who stopped and moved her off the road and took 7 babies, they will live. She went back this morning and found two more. Jodee B Coke texted me last night and I agreed to take the 7. Then 9. Thanks Jodee for driving these littles to me! They are all doing well. Definitely dehydrated and hungry but on their way to healthy now. They weigh 70-75g. George, my big raccoon boy, weighs 2,000g! Perspective is fascinating! These babies, 4 girls and 5 boys, have gotten subcutaneous fluids, tubed electrolytes, and tubed diluted formula so far. Fingers crossed they’ll start to lap the formula/food mixture from the bowl in a day or two. Welcome to Nutting Stream you sweet, tiny babies!

Thank you Deirdre Gonsalves for, well, EVERYTHING today! Tubing your first opossums. Cleaning out the pre-release cages for the big kids…and every single thing in between.

06/09/2026

A question asked the other day by a MA licensed wildlife rehabber: “Is anyone in the entire state of Massachusetts taking baby raccoons at this time?”. A broad sweeping question with a hint of panic and frustration.

The answer is pretty much NO…we are all beyond full and are overwhelmed with orphaned raccoon babies. However, ALWAYS call or text all of us if you find orphaned or injured raccoons…space *can* become available as things change in our clinics.

The bigger picture…we need to STOP making orphaned raccoon babies. Most of our intakes are orphans left behind, traumatized, starving, and dying because moms are illegally and cruelly relocated, purposefully killed, or accidentally killed by car strikes. Please educate yourselves and everyone around you about raccoons. They are not a nuisance. They will not come to your house/yard if you don’t leave them a food source. They will not ‘attack’ unprovoked. They are not naturally aggressive. They honestly are just trying to live and raise a family. They’re brilliant, sweet, family oriented, and instrumental in the natural balance out there. By the way…they also help keep rodent populations in control…