Southeast Iowa Wildlife Rescue Alliance

05/10/2024

I’m far too busy to keep this page updated, but I answer calls/texts/mesaages.

08/15/2023

Just a reminder that baby season has begun. If you find babies, please contact us for advice on how to try to reunite with mom. And never attempt to feed babies. Helping them stay warm is the most important and helpful thing to do if you find wildlife babies. Every animal has specific needs which is what rehabbers are trained to know.

08/13/2023

Even though baby raccoon season is winding down, baby squirrels and opossums are still coming in. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated to keep up with feeding these young animals and also for supplementing the raccoons while they are learning to forage on their own.

PayPal [email protected]
CashAp $SEIowaWildlifeRescue
Venmo

Thank you for your kindness and support!

08/05/2023

Would anyone happen to have Capstar before I go spend $40 at TSC? Baby opossums covered in flystrike and one’s mouth was completely filled.

07/28/2023

Fundraiser garage sale happening now!

1401 Dogwoid Drive in Fairfield

06/29/2023

Anyone experienced with bottle feeding puppies? Could use some advice.

06/25/2023

Does anyone have a couple doses of albuteral and the tubing for a nebulizer?

06/12/2023

It seems I’m always begging, but without your help I wouldn’t be able to take these animals that need help. I used the last of the vaccines this weekend and I wasn’t able to vaccinate everyone. I’m about $70 short being able to buy the remaining doses I need. Please consider making a small donation. Thank you! ❤️

Ways to donate:

PayPal: [email protected] or [email protected]
CashApp: $SEIowaWildlifeRescue
Venmo:

06/10/2023

BEFORE YOU THROW THAT AWAY…
Just throwing this out there…if anyone is cleaning out a fridge or freezer keep me in mind. The wildlife babies aren’t cheap to feed. Freezer burned meat is okay. And if any one has extra eggs I always appreciate those! Unwanted dry puppy, dog and cat food too.

06/05/2023

Sadly, sweet little Leroy passed. All my efforts were in vain; with the exception of surgery, nothing could have saved his life. What I suspected was an abscess, turned out to be a mass that surrounded a deformed rib that was not attached to the sternum. He also had two extra ribs on that side, so it was thought be a birth defect. His finder told me she thought he had been attacked by a male raccoon, but no matter his assailant, his strange rib poked a hole through his abdominal cavity and punctured his stomach.

This is why having a vet who will work with you is so very important. We can do a lot; we’ve seen enough of what works and what doesn’t, but we don’t have diagnostic equipment. Nor do many of us have the funds to pay for the treatment of such extreme cases. I know it’s hard to choose where your donations go, because what makes one life more important than another? I don’t have the answers to things like that.

What I do know was Leroy was loved. Saving them all is never possible, but showing them kindness and love is.

Donations of money, items off our Amazon list, in-person donations of items…trust me when I say almost every rehabber across our country feels the need at some point, but we hate asking. Recently someone asked if I needed marketing help. I don’t think so. If you want to help and can afford it, thank you. If you want to help but can’t afford it, thank you. I appreciate every soul who is kind to animals. ❤️

05/24/2023

Ways to donate:

PayPal: [email protected]
CashApp: $SEIowaWildlifeRescue
Venmo:

05/24/2023

Donations greatly appreciated!

I have a critical baby. Despite my local vet seeming to be less willing to help, I’m making an appointment for an X-ray of his whole body I hope, given his size. He was reportedly attacked by an adult male prior to coming to me. I started him on antibiotics, but the wound did not seem recent nor life threatening. He’s been here a week and has now developed a soft pocket of fluid near his rib cage and seems to be uncomfortable. I was sure he wouldn’t make it through the day earlier, but then he seemed to rebound and was taking formula and even walking around a bit. I began Clindamyacin, in case it’s infection but I don’t know if it is or not. I was worried the SMZ (indicated for soft tissue bacterial infection) hadn’t been effective and maybe he was becoming septic.

Last year X-rays were $150 for Ro’s arm, on top of the office visit. I realize everyone needs to make money, but I thought there were some benefits in having a non profit, plus some sort of ”it takes a village” train of thought when it comes to rehabbers and the vets who assist them…but no matter the politics, I don’t want little
Leroy’s life to come down to dollars.

Thank you for any help you can provide, even if it’s simply sharing this post.

Tonight will be a sleepless right. Please pray for this little one.

Locate a wildlife rehabber, learn about Iowa’s wildlife, discover ways to support wildlife rehabilita

05/15/2023

I am in need of donations to help with formula costs. I was lucky to have a friend donate enough to cover a 8lb bucket for the raccoons. That’s about an 8 or 9 day supply. If you are able to help, it is greatly appreciated. I was unable to afford the hosting for the website, but you can donate through PayPal, CashApp or Venmo.

PayPal: [email protected]
CashApp: $SEIowaWildlifeRescue
Venmo:

04/12/2023

As baby season revs up, I want to remind everyone of a few basics.

1. Reunification of babies and momma is the preferred and best method to give babies the best chance. Unless you are sure mom is deceased. Signs pointing to mom no longer being around would be babies coming out of the nest without her near or not seeing her return on a regular basis.

2. If you are not experienced in wildlife rehab, don’t assume what you think is helpful actually is. There’s a difference between well meaning and helpful.

3. First and foremost, babies need warmth. They can not self regulate their body temp. Providing a heat source on one side of a box or plastic tote is the best thing you can do while locating a rehabber.

4. Most babies you encounter will still be nursing. Providing a dish of water and any type of food is pointless for younger babies. Please keep them warm until a rehabber can take over. NEVER give cow’s milk to wildlife babies.

5. Feeding orphans anything before properly warming and rehydrating can cause their death. When an animal is starving, what little energy that still remains in those tiny bodies is used to sustain vital organs. Feeding redirects that precious energy to digestion which can result in death.

6. Keep warm. Do not handle. Keep away for pets and children. locate a rehabber ASAP, not two or three days later.

Thank you!

12/26/2022

It’s been forever since I posted and things are definitely slower now that the 2022 baby season chapter is closed, but there are a few babies who weren’t quite big enough to be released before winter. So for your viewing enjoyment, I gave the opossums some fresh snow!

Just a reminder, we help animals all year round. If you see an animal in need of help please reach out to your local rehabber or rescue group. The recent weather can take a toll on wildlife, especially with the strong winds we’ve had. If an animal is injured and cannot make it back to its den or nest, it’s fate is to freeze to death. If you find an animal or bird, warming it up slowly while reaching out for help are the first steps. Never warm an animal up with water or too quickly.

Thank you for caring about our wildlife.

10/21/2022

6 baby opossums came in this afternoon. Little guys & girls! I can’t believe we have babies this young in late October!

09/29/2022

This baby came in yesterday. It breaks my heart how skinny he is and the wound on his leg is terrible. Pain meds, antibiotics, Manuka honey and a warm, quiet place to rest for now. Thank you Shawna Ingle for keeping an eye on him until I picked him up. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He’s got a long road ahead.

09/15/2022

At the height of this year’s baby season I had a return visitor almost every day for several weeks. I’d hear the familiar sound of his brown truck on our gravel road and knew it was probably another Amazon package from Lynn Shirai. Lynn retired from M.U.M this year, but I was fortunate to meet her just before she did. I met with students from the lower school and we talked about how to help wildlife. Lynn made that possible after I called about a fawn that had been tucked away by its mother on the playground. The children had great stories, great questions and I was quite impressed. Afterwards Lynn literally filled the back of my SUV with cleaning supplies, medical supplies and other items for the rehab. When the first Amazon packages started arriving I had no idea who was sending them, but she let it slip during one of our phone calls.

To date, over $6000 in purchases have been made with SIWRA selected as the charity of choice on Amazon.

Thank you Lynn and our other supporters who have sent items from our wishlist. We are incredibly grateful to be in your hearts have you in our corner.

For anyone interested, our Amazon wishlist can be found at
https://smile.amazon.com/hz/charitylist/ls/FR7YWZ9A693D

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09/05/2022

Remember Momma from earlier in the week? She was here five days and her baby was back where she had been trapped. After a heart-to-heart talk about getting into the pet carrier I had put inside the enclosure and a bribe of a couple full size marshmallows, she did just that. I was so amazed. You couldn’t have smacked the smile off my face. I loaded her into my vehicle and off we went. I‘m not saying what I was about to do couldn’t have got me in trouble, but she needed to be reunited with her baby. This full grown wild raccoon was laying on her back playing with a leaf when we got to our destination. I opened the back of the SUV, opened the carrier door and waited. Apparently Momma didn’t fully grasp the need for haste, so I got in the backseat to push the carrier closer to the open door. It only took a couple seconds and she scampered around the corner of the house and I quickly drove away. This was the best I could do given the circumstances. I can only hope she found her baby safe and sound and decides to find a different place to call home.

09/03/2022

Would anyone be traveling to Des Moines tomorrow? I have an injured bird, which I will drive up there tonight unless by chance someone is headed that way in the morning.

09/02/2022

Meet Harper ❤️

08/31/2022

Update: Homeowners claim something must have gotten the baby the first night they trapped momma. I’m treating her wounds as best I can with a Manuka honey based wound spray. Yesterday evening I secured a safe place to release her and hopefully her baby, but now it seems I will just be releasing a needlessly injured and heartbroken momma.

It’s time we start being a voice for these animals. The laws need to be changed so people aren’t allowed to mistreat our wildlife just because of their carelessness to fix problem areas in their houses, by drawing animals to their property by leaving trash and food outside and not properly securing their chickens or other poultry.

There is NO EXCUSE for this. Keeping animals in live traps for extended periods of time results in this kind of injury. Her crime? Making a home in a homeowners porch roof that obviously needed repaired or she wouldn’t have gained access. More than likely drawn to the premises by the cat food outside and the chickens and chicken feed also outside.

There are differences in urban raccoons and rural raccoons. Yes, they are the same animal, species wise. However, urban raccoons have adapted to living in urban areas where food sources are everywhere and little hunting is required. Now I’m supposed to transplant her to the country with her baby and hope she can provide for that baby and herself in a strange environment. Hoping she doesn’t go towards houses where she’d likely encounter dogs or humans.

08/31/2022

A great start to the morning.

08/28/2022

Just throwing this out there, because you never know until you ask…

If anyone has veterinary text books, exotic animal care books or basically any books related to the care of animals and would be willing to donate them to Southeast Iowa Wildlife Rescue Alliance, please let know. SIWRA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations of money and/or items are tax deductible. Receipts for your donations will be mailed at the end of the year.

08/26/2022

Little Nova. Oh, it pains me how thin she is. Working on building her trust since we will be spending the next several months together. I can’t imagine how terrible she was treated. When someone calls about a raccoon they’ve bottle fed and been raising for months, I have come to expect a few things: they generally come with toys, blankets, there are long goodbyes and lots of hugs/kisses, I’ll have a shadow for awhile and the “how are they doing?” texts. Nova had no blanket, no toys, there were no tears, no kisses and the teenagers who supposedly raised her have not contacted me at all. The slightest noise scares Nova, she looks terrified as see slowly eats a little puppy chow like she’s waiting to be yelled at or worse.

It’s okay now Nova. You never have to worry about being hungry or safe as long as you’re here.

08/26/2022

Look at Ro go! ❤️

08/23/2022

A 6-8 week old baby raccoon will generally weigh between 2-4 lbs. Nova was found at the beginning of May when she was around 5-6 weeks old. For whatever reason, a rehabber was not sought out until recently. Nova is 5 months old and weighs 3 lbs 4 oz. She’s literally a puff ball of hair covering a skeleton. There’s no reason for her to be in this condition, aside from she was being starved to death for God only knows how long. All of the adults involved in her situation should be appalled that this sweet little girl spent days and night with hunger pains, her body absorbing it’s fat and muscle to keep her alive. Getting her to a healthy weight will require weeks and overwintering will be necessary. Kept in a cage without adequate food for weeks…I just can’t wrap my head around it.

08/20/2022

Would anyone like to donate via a Theisen’s digital gift card? It would be amazing and super helpful. I’m making a trip to pick up a donation of dog food, but also need to replenish puppy pads, fly spray and a few more water bottles since several babies will be spending the winter with us and they are going to need bigger bottles.

theisens.com

08/19/2022

This picture is so much more than just a picture. This is Ro. He’s been with me for a month and all that time he has just been lying on the cage floor and scooting around by basically using his head and neck. Initially the vet thought his arm was broken, but after X-rays she diagnosed a bone infection. He also had swelling in his ankle, which she attributed to systemic infection. Last week I sent his X-rays to another vet and her first comment was, “Yuck. Bad elbow, arthritic.” I started searching veterinary articles and then a rehabber in another state posted photos of a baby she has on Facebook and was asking what the treatment protocol for Mycoplasmosis was. The pictures looked like Ro. So three nights ago I changed one of his antibiotics. Today, he stood up to eat. I seriously can’t stop smiling.

08/15/2022

A huge thank you to Christina McCallister for her recent donation. Today I was able to order two months of flea and tick treatment, purchase some straw and minnows. What’s remaining will be applied to the cost of Dory’s X-rays on Wednesday.

I also want to thank Nancy Harvey (Iowa STARS For Animals)for her recent donation that will cover the remaining costs (fingers crossed) of Dory’s visit Wednesday.

More thank you’s are on the way, because through all the struggles this season, I’ve been blessed to have some wonderful supporters. Every dollar helps. There’s people who say they are going to help and there’s the people who help without saying a word. ❤️