Rocky Start Rescue

06/19/2025

Hey friends! I keep not posting because I keep forgetting because my brain is a liquid. But! There's still time for wishlist Wednesday! Our biggest needs right now are wet cat food for the many opossums, wet puppy food for the many raccoons, and puppy pads! We are flying through puppy pads. My two biggest rescue species are also two of the grossest. If you can donate or send us any of the items on our wishlist, really, it means a lot and it helps us keep everyone healthy and happy! I'm going to try and post of few featured kiddos this week if my mind allows me to remember. In the meantime, thanks for all of your support!

Ps, whoever sent this new Midwest cage this week, you're a rockstar and we are so so grateful!!! I can't wait to fill it with opossums!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2CY5C21QD49SA?ref_=wl_share

06/10/2025

OH. MY. WORD!!!

Those are all the words I have for the turnout on Saturday. ok just kidding, I have more. It was the best day ever. If you missed it, I'm sorry!!! There is always next year. 🤙

I have been waiting to post until I got the final number of donations received and I officially have the final tally!

WE RAISED $2168!!!

I am so damn proud of this rescue. I'm proud of my hard work to build my dream into this wild thing it has become. I'm proud of my team, my family, and my community. I'm proud of Ray, who had his very first public event as an educational embassador animal! He did so well and almost everyone respected his space, and my requests not to try and touch him.

I have so many thanks to give. Thank you to the Griffin Grill & Pub for hosting us three years running, and more to come, and for always helping and supporting me like family. Thank you to Dale, and all of the amazing members of Riff Raff BC for playing an amazing show for us, and for having me come up and speak about the rescue. Thank you Megan Rae for guest singing and hanging out with us and Eddie! Thank you to every business that donated for the silent auctions, Full Blast, KitchenProper, The Cricket, Pet Supplies Plus Battle Creek, Redbow Photography all gave amazing contributions to the silent auction table!!! Kelsey Fordham donated a brand new incubator to the rescue and I can't wait to fill it with babies who need it!

Huge thank you to my husband, my parents, and my best friends for being there and helping me run things. Not just Saturday, but every event!

Thank you to all of you who showed up and showed us how much you support us. Having our biggest fundraiser of the year right smack dab in the middle of baby season is such a morale boost for me and I can't thank you all enough for everything you gave. We had a pickup truck full of donations!!!

Donations from this weekend will support our rescue, and help other rescues as well and that's huge.

I love you all so big and I already can't wait for next year. ❤️

Post your photos from the event in the comments!!

06/07/2025

Today's the big day! I hope to see so many faces new and familiar today at the Griffin from 2:00 to 6:00! We have live music, amazing silent auction baskets, and other donations from businesses around the city. There will also be jello shots available on the patio and I'm bringing some special educational ambassadors from the rescue to show off. Hope to see everyone there!

06/06/2025

Friends! Do not forget to drop in on Saturday, I can't wait to talk to everyone and hang out with some of my best friends ❤️

Please Join us at the Griffin Pub on Saturday June 7th from 2:00pm – 6:00pm for the third annual Pints for a Purpose. We will donate $1 to Rocky Start Rescue for each Pint sold during the Event. The event will feature live music from Riff Raff, merchandise, swag, a raffle, and adoptable animals. Bring the family for a fun event plus help support a great Rescue! If you are unable to attend but would like to donate, please drop off any items/donations at the Griffin, now until the event. Following is a Wish List of items for the Rescue. Kitty litter boxes, wet kitten food, dry Purina kitten chow, dry puppy kibble, kitty litter, towels (used is fine), paper towels, Nature’s Miracle cleaning products, dog and cat toys, Lysol wipes and baby wipes.

05/31/2025

Hi friends! A little late night $5 Friday post! We could really use the extra donations right now as we have a lot of mouths to feed! This little kiddo was brought to us this week with not one, but two injured limbs. He's spicy and terrified of me but that's ok, because he's safe and he eats his pain meds mixed into his food. His finders named him bandit! I'm hopeful for a full recovery from him and he can return to the wild. That makes 31 raccoon babies and five adults here at Rocky Start! You can donate using either of our pay apps, through this post right here, or on pay pal!

https://cash.app/$RockyStartRescue

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3917959168787966759&created=1732625854

PayPal: Rocky Start Rescue

05/29/2025

Hi friends! I have been admittedly absent from social media because, well, baby season. I had a different post planned for today but there was an ....incident. So I'll post about that instead.

Earlier I had a finder ask me to take two orphaned opossums. I said "what's two more" I had to run into town, and she beat me back to my house so I told her to just open the blazer and pop them in there, I'll be 15 minutes. She does.

This is where it gets stupid. Little did I know (I won't make the mistake if not inquiring again) that these guys were in a shoe box with no lid. Perfectly capable of escape. Just chillin. Raw do**in, if you will, in my blazer. I arrive home quickly after, only to find one of the two aforementioned opossums. I say "well s**t" (she says the same)

Somehow and for some reason, maybe because he's a genius, maybe because he's an opossum psychic, maybe it's freaking Maybelline, Bruce knows exactly where the thing is. "Great, I bet it's in under your council" (I did not believe that to be the case). He proceeds to take my council apart anyway and I'll be damned if this little face wasn't staring at me when he pulled the center council out 😂

I'm glad she's safe, I'm glad she's not opossum passenger princess, and I'm glad we arent looking for her anymore. Most of all, I'm glad for this glass of wine.

Happy hump day, y'all. Hang in there, baby 🤙

05/28/2025

Don't forget! We can't wait!

Please Join us at the Griffin Pub on Saturday June 7th from 2:00pm – 6:00pm for the third annual Pints for a Purpose. We will donate $1 to Rocky Start Rescue for each Pint sold during the Event. The event will feature live music from Riff Raff, merchandise, swag, a raffle, and adoptable animals. Bring the family for a fun event plus help support a great Rescue! If you are unable to attend but would like to donate, please drop off any items/donations at the Griffin, now until the event. Following is a Wish List of items for the Rescue. Kitty litter boxes, wet kitten food, dry Purina kitten chow, dry puppy kibble, kitty litter, towels (used is fine), paper towels, Nature’s Miracle cleaning products, dog and cat toys, Lysol wipes and baby wipes.

05/20/2025

We're getting into the bad part of baby season. Every rescue is full, we're trying so hard, and calls keep coming. I took these three last night from Jamie who originally took them from a finder then realized something was deeply wrong with them. The finder of these three babies had them for a week and was feeding them raw egg and karo syrup. This is exactly what is coming out of these raccoons. Because they are not digesting what she was putting into them, they are slowly starving to death. Their eyes are sunken in. They are so lethargic and their stomachs are caved in. I've been hydrating and hydrating since yesterday and honestly it doesn't seem like I've hydrated at all. I can't even feed these poor things because I have to get every last sticky bit of garbage out of their system first. They smell like they've died already. Please stop feeding wildlife if you are not trained. I have 50 other animals to care for and now I'm caring around the clock for these guys and I feel like I'm just watching them die. Had she found a rehabber the day or even day after she found these babies they would not be in the situation they're in now. We are begging you to not feed any wildlife that is orphaned and to just keep it warm and safe until a rehabber can be found. I'm doing all that I can, and some days it isn't enough.

05/16/2025

Happy Friday, friends! Big news so get out your calendars! Our favorite benefit is happening June 7th! The Griffin grill and pub downtown Battle Creek is hosting us for our very favorite, and biggest benefit of the year! Riff Raff BC is our entertainment again this year and we are so excited to work with them again! Join us for music, drinks, food, friends, raffle, silent auction, and some of our educational ambassador animals! The event is from 2-6 pm on Saturday, June 7th. We can't wait to party with all of you!

05/08/2025

Let's have a chat. We pay for our classes to become rehabbers. We pay for our supplies. We pay for our non profit status. We pay for our continued education courses. We pay for vet care. You get the point. We don't make a single penny doing this.

I have met finders that have driven half way across the state to get a single animal somewhere safe with a rehabber who has the room and the correct credentials. These people are the glimmers in this field. It's so heartwarming when people see us and want to help. We love you ❤️

I have met finders who won't contain an animal or expect us to come out and look for something that was there a few hours ago. Then when we explain we just don't have the time and resources to do that, they tell us it's our fault if the animal dies.

We get hung up on, yelled at, and told we don't do enough all the time.

And that's ok.

I love what I do and if I didn't, it wouldn't be worth it. What we all wish the public would understand is just what we go through. If I could take every animal I get asked to, I would have over a hundred animals to bottle feed every four hours by myself. That's just not realistic. So what can I do? I can offer the other resources that I have. I can give numbers, advice, and hope that people will help us out and make a few extra phone calls. We aren't "passing you off" and we wonder about each animal we say no to. We hope it gets to a safe place with a rehabber. We hope the finder followed through and didn't give up because the first number they called was full

Wanna get mad about a rehabber not being able to take an animal? I'll gladly send you a link to get started becoming a rehabber yourself. We need more and that is the only way we are going to be able to help every animal. Join us! No benefits, no pay, no sleep, and little appreciation, but hey! If it's so easy then come on!

Thanks for coming to my sleep deprived Ted talk. Peace love and baby s**t ❤️🤙

05/08/2025

Happy wishlist Wednesday! Me and every other rehabber are freaking pooped! I'm doing a tiny photo dump here with some rescue updates and also asking for things, as is the usual catch. We need supplies! Mainly Lysol wipes, paper towels, actual towels, and holy s**t we need baby wipes. Like a million.

Trigger warning: the last photo is graphic.

We have a total of 29 babies between Jamie and myself, including six of the cutest red squirrel babies that are doing amazing! Remember the baby squirrel I posted a photo of not too long ago? She's in that first picture snuggled in!

Picture number 2 is a sweet week old who came in yesterday, he's a gorgeous color and I can't wait to see what he grows up looking like! He was joined by two more his size today.

The third picture is of the first "big kid cage" of the year! My first two intakes, bingo and banjo were moved into their new space today and are loving it!

The last two photos are of a sweet little guy who was the only survivor in his family. Tree trimmers sawed through the entire family and left him severely injured. We're looking at an amputation here and hopeful for a good outcome. Please be mindful of the wildlife that is just trying to live near you. I can't imagine the fear and the pain those animals felt. He's safe here, with pain meds, antibiotics, a full tummy, and a warm blanket. My husband has lovingly named him patches.

If you can help us out and make a difference for these animals, it means a lot and goes a long way! Follow the link to shop our Amazon wishlist!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2CY5C21QD49SA?ref_=wl_share

04/20/2025

Happy Easter! Here are our two newest intakes, and all together the 12 raccoon babies in our care have cost $300 in supplies, most of which is in formula. We need your help! The bigger they get, the more they eat! Your donations are the reason we can afford to rehab every year. Every bit adds up!

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3917959168787966759&created=1732625854

https://cash.app/$RockyStartRescue

PayPal: Rocky Start Rescue