Salem Wildlife Rescue

03/31/2025

Apologies for the lack of posts/updates on these four sweet girls. For days, they’ve been pretty sick. They’d had diarrhea since before they came to me so I’ve been managing it and doing what I can to try and fix it. I haven’t wanted to take photos of them as because of them struggling for the first few days, they literally became skin and bones. It was heartbreaking to look at. They needed care every 3 hours around the clock, one day it became EVERY hour and a half that I was in there with fluids and medicines and trying to get nutrition into them. I’ve been exhausted beyond words and not getting much sleep so needless to say, after them I’m going back to only doing squirrel babies 4-5 weeks old and up 😂😂

My vet did a f***l test and thankfully no parasites or bacteria, but they did have a pretty bad gut flora imbalance, so I’ve been working hard to try my best to correct that for them. I probably won’t be taking any other squirrel babies until these guys are stable. I want to not only make sure nothing else could be going on that is still contagious or transmissible, as well as being so exhausted doing all of this extra care around working my full time job so much!

This picture is from this morning, where they finally look good! They’ve been putting on weight for the last two days and finally looking healthier! Last week was a battle. I spent countless hours consulting different rehabbers from all over, researching, researching, and researching some more on how to best support them. Hopefully these beautiful girls stay on the mend and keep getting better from here ❤️

03/26/2025

Last night I played a fun little Did You Know game on the rescue’s IG story, which is something I’d love to do more! Knowledge games are cool! This sweet pea weighs 35 grams. But to us normal people… what the heck does that mean?! What does that feel like?! So did you know, this sweet girl weighs as much as…
A 60 watt lightbulb
14 pennies
And 32 Cheez it crackers?!

They’re tiny! And I just can’t wait to watch them grow 💕

03/26/2025

Baby season is here 💕 These sweet two-week-old nuggets came to me tonight from my lovely friend Susan at Return2Wild, and so graciously transported all of the way here by Deb N.!

As you might know, I don’t normally do squirrel babies this young due to work. Now that I have transitioned to working fully remotely at my full time job (that one long day a week in-office in Boston is what got me!), I’m going to see if taking these super youngins is something that I can handle. If it’s a bit too much with work, then I’ll pass them along to another rehabber and start only taking 4 week old and up squirrels 😂 But if all is going swimmingly, then these cuties will be with me for about, give or take, 10-12 more weeks!

Note: I won’t be taking too many squirrels for the next month and a half due to some personal things, so depending on what’s going on, these little ones might be it for squirrels for that time! I will of course keep you posted as baby season encroaches more upon us all!!! But for now, I’m going to soak up all of the adorable baby squirrel sounds while I still can; before long, it’ll be grumpy squirrel grunts 😂❤️

03/25/2025

Anddddd we’re off! The rabbit from yesterday made an amazing recovery and was ready for release this morning!

Now, you might be wondering, isn’t that a little too soon? Normally with something like this, of course. You want to make sure the animal is in perfect or near-perfect condition with no problems that would develop overnight or over a couple of days or anything. However… It can get extremely tricky with adult animals who have the hate and fear of humans ingrained into them. Being touched/handled by us, talked to by us, let alone being in a cage in our home, can stress them out to no end. And with rabbits, they are the most susceptible to stress. Rehabbers have to look at the big picture of the situation.

When he came in yesterday morning, I medicated him, gave him food and water, and let him completely be. I came back in in the late afternoon to attempt to give him another dose of the pain medicine. He seemed still out of it (so I thought) because he was sitting in a corner not moving. But when I went to touch him, he was kicking my gloves and shredding them, and had even jumped out and fell out of the cage. I was able to get him back in, he seemed fine, but that was a very strong clue that he was really needing to get out of here. He was otherwise hopping normally around the cage without any sign of deficit. He was now extra stressed from this whole ordeal and did not want me anywhere near him. He spent the entire night into this morning hiding because of it.

Another factor we need to mention is the dreaded GI stasis. Rabbits’ intestinal tracts are very sensitive as it is. If they go too long without eating, it shuts down. He would not take critical care from me, he would not eat any of the greens or hay that I put in there for him, would not drink any water, and at this point of me writing this this morning, it was nearly 24 hours since he had come in. He was still peeing and pooping, which is good, but he refused to eat. The clock was ticking for when the stasis would kick in, from not eating coupled with the extreme stress of the day.

I was second-guessing my judgement and wanted some reassurance, so I gathered second opinions last night from some other amazing rehabilitators that I’m so thankful to call my friends (thank you Whalen Wildlife Rescue and Haddies Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for the great group conversation!!) as well as my wonderful wildlife veterinarian who were all in agreement with me that he needed to be released this morning, as long as he still acted fine overnight. And this morning, all was well! There is no exciting release video of him hopping away fast into freedom, as he was still very nervous from the drive and from being in the carrier while I walked to where to release him. But he was released where he was found, in a brushy area away from the road! Once he has a little time to get his bearings and understand that he is back home, he should be great! From the hopping he did do, everything looked well.

All in all, not the most ideal situation of course; I would have preferred to keep him for a couple more days to monitor, but his well-being is what is most important. It was either him die stressed out in a cage, or release him back into the wild a little sooner than I would like and allow him to live out his life back in his home to the best of his ability. And he seemed fine otherwise, so I am hopeful for the best for him! Adult rabbits don’t often survive in the rehab situations, be it from their injuries from car strikes or animal attacks or just the stress of being in captivity. So every release of an adult cottontail is celebrated!

03/24/2025

Early this morning, I received a message about a cottontail which the finder believes was hit by a car down at the Willows. When he got to me, he thankfully was in better condition than I expected! His other eye is bloody, he isn’t trying to stand unless I try to stand him up, and he seems to have a little head trauma and is a little out of it. I mean cmon, what rabbit (both wild and domestic) is going to let someone scrub blood droplets off of their leg fur and NOT try to kick you in the face for having the absolute AUDACITY to touch their fluffy little feet 🤣 but he otherwise has sensation in all four limbs and has no other visible wounds. Exam and pain meds were even completed before I had to start work, so that’s a win for the morning! Hopefully the rabbit does well with some rest and TLC and recovers fully! 💕

Thank you all for all of the love on yesterday’s post by the way! I was nervous to share such an emotional tale, but I read every single comment and the love, support, and solidarity I received was amazing! Seeing that it even helped people love the empathetic/sensitive side of themselves brought me such joy. That’s why I made the post after all: to help people appreciate their big fragile hearts, because it is a gift you should be proud of, even though it causes us pain sometimes ❤️

03/23/2025

Last night’s supposed-quick rescue turned into quite the ordeal. What I thought would be a fast pickup turned into a frustrating, heartbreaking adventure. I don’t usually vent like this, but this is the reality of wildlife rehab sometimes. Buckle up, buckaroos.

It was almost 1am. I couldn’t sleep. After a great day, I randomly started getting a slightly sore throat. Whether it’s a cold or allergies, I wasn’t feeling great, and I had to open at my side job in the morning. (Yup, I have a full and a part time job around the rescue like a psycho! 🤣) I needed sleep BAD. I’d just closed my eyes when the rescue phone buzzed. A text said an opossum had been hit and was dragging his back legs, just five minutes from me. I knew no one else would respond this late, and I couldn’t ignore it and sleep knowing he was suffering out there in the cold. So I popped my contacts back in, ran out in my ugly pajamas, thinking it’d be a five-minute trip. I was wrong.

The finders were amazing. They waited with him and even said they support my rescue—thank you so much, I didn’t catch your names in my half-asleep state but I appreciate you deeply.

The opossum was clearly in excruciating pain. His back was likely broken, no sensation in his legs and he was dragging his entire back half in a very contorted position. There was no way I could keep him until after work, making him wait that long on not-the-strongest pain meds while suffering would be cruel. Wildlife rehabbers aren’t always allowed to keep on hand the medications needed to ease such pain—what I have at the moment wouldn’t touch that level of pain much. He needed humane euthanasia now. I headed to the usual 24/7 ER vet who was closest, calling on the way. They put me on hold, and just before I arrived, they told me the vet wouldn’t help. I begged, cried—but no. Their vet wasn’t comfortable euthanizing this critical possum and they referred me to Bulger… another 40 minutes away each way.

So I drove there, sobbing, with a suffering opossum beside me. I had no sleep, felt sick, and was almost out of gas. I had just enough to get to the original vet. Now I had to stop for gas at 1am to make it to the other vet, which isn’t always safe for a woman alone at night.

Bulger thankfully agreed to help. But I’m still a little bothered. Rehabilitators are unpaid volunteers doing this around full-time jobs, families, other animal care, and other obligations. Most don’t transport animals at all, let alone at 1am. I always do try if I can. I understand being cautious with raccoons or coyotes—but this was an opossum. No difference in euthanizing than another animal. All I wanted was help to stop his suffering.

I’m glad I could give him peace. He seemed older, amazing plump body condition, otherwise healthy. Likely hit by someone not paying attention in a well-lit area. Possums are slow; he didn’t dart out, yet he was still hit and left to drag himself to the sidewalk and curled up against a building in the cold.

I took a photo while finally getting gas. His eyes—full of pain, fear, and beauty—broke me. Just looking into his eyes for those few moments shattered my fragile heart even more. Sometimes I kick myself for always putting the needs of others above my own. I will always drop everything (except for work) if I can to help an animal, and sometimes even a human, even at a detriment to me. Last night, looking at this opossum who desperately needed help, I am grateful for being the type of person that I am. To have a huge heart can be both a blessing and a curse. If it wasn’t for me being willing to give up the sleep that I so desperately needed, who knows what would have happened to this poor sweet life. So many others have no problem shutting off their phones or ignoring messages in their everyday lives (not even rehabbers, Everyone and for any reason!). Sometimes I’m envious that people can ignore things so easily and not even bat an eye or be kept up at night by the smallest things like I do as a sensitive and anxious person haha. Even if it is an animal I don’t work with, I always at least try to text someone back and offer other possible people or solutions. I never want someone in need to feel let down by me. So even though I feel like garbage and I really struggled this morning to get ready for work with almost no sleep because of not getting back home until after 2am, I am still happy to be the type of person that I am. I will never apologize for that. Though my heart frequently likes to pain me for feeling things as deeply as I do, I am grateful for it having such a capacity for love and wanting to help others no matter what. Even though I am angry, frustrated, and disappointed at being let down last night and being forced to drive double the original planned distance in the extremely late night just to help end an animal’s suffering, I am grateful that there was one vet hospital out there who was more than happy to help and showed me the utmost empathy and kindness when i showed up in my ugly pajamas with eyes red from crying over this poor creature’s pain.

If you read this far, thank you. I’m not looking for sympathy or a pat on the back. I’m just sharing the raw truth of what this work is like. It’s not all feeding cute orphans. Be gentle with yourself today. And if you, too, have a big heart—you’re not alone. You’re a beautiful and a special human!

Now to finish work… and then, a much-needed nap!

Editing just to say: I will never knock or criticize a vet, they have such a thankless job and they are overworked, understaffed, and grossly underpaid for the type of work that they do. They are the true angels of the Earth! I’m a little bit disappointed how things ended up last night, it’s not like this possum was dangerous or possibly carrying disease like a raccoon or a coyote, but I will never speak poorly to or about a veterinarian. I appreciate every veterinarian, vet tech, any member of veterinary staff who has ever helped me with both my personal pets and wildlife, you are all amazing human beings ❤️ So please, no nasty words towards whoever the veterinarian was who was not able to help last night 💕

03/17/2025

Who would have thought that Newhouse Wildlife Rescue and myself would be assisting with a prison break on a Sunday afternoon 😂 this little guy is lucky that’s he’s so cute!

03/11/2025

First of all, thank you all SO much for all of the support, the donations towards the vet expense, and most of all the kind words. They mean more to me than you’ll ever know ❤️ This photo is from yesterday for obvious reasons, but this morning I came in to care for the bunny and found that he was no longer with us and must have passed maybe an hour or two before I had come into the room. Maybe he had more going on internally than we knew, maybe the stasis took over no matter how much I did to treat it, who knows. I’m bummed out and sad for him; we did so much to try and help him, but this sort of thing happens. Rabbits are very sensitive and fragile little beings. But at least I can’t say that I didn’t try with every avenue possible and every ounce of my being. I did my very best and that in itself is a wonderful thing. Rest easy sweet bun, it was a pleasure to bring you some comfort in your short time here 💕

On another note though, remember TONIGHT AT 6pm EST is the rehab room setup presentation for existing and aspiring rehabilitators! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone then!

03/10/2025

I am now home with the bunny! Fortunately no breaks or fractures, but there could possibly be some nerve injuries on top of the bad head trauma that explain the symptoms post-car-strike, one of which starting to be the dreaded GI stasis! We are giving him a few days to see if he makes any improvements at all. He also has ulcerations in BOTH of his eyes, his right eye being the worst though. So on top of the 3 oral/injectible medicines he will be on for the next few days he will be getting two different eye drops every 8 hours for a little while. He may need to be syringe-fed some critical care also to help stimulate his gut to see if we can’t get things moving again if he doesn’t eat on his own like he did last night. But we are going to give this little one a chance, and if there are no improvements or if he declines, then we will make the humane decision to help him cross the rainbow bridge. If he is suffering, then I will not allow him to keep suffering. The vet doesnt believe he’s in too much pain though, especially since he was eating and not showing many signs of pain. If rabbits are uncomfortable then they sure won’t eat!

I am so grateful that this local vet was willing to help me today! I had to work late so there was sadly no way I could get to and from my amazing wildlife vet in time, and the rabbit didnt deserve to have his/her care delayed! However because this vet doesn’t do wildlife, the rescue did incur a large bill as everything was charged full price. I did pay it but naturally that’s a big hit to a small rescue! If you wanted to help towards the cost, it would greatly help! Thank you for all of your support in helping me save our precious wildlife ❤️

03/10/2025

This poor injured bunny came in tonight from the sweetest couple. They found him earlier today laying by their trash cans, and when they contacted me I was sadly stuck at work. After calling around to no avail, they messaged me back saying they still had not found help and the little guy was still alive! After work they came all of the way to bring him to me.

He has some pretty severe head trauma, injury to his right eye, and him responding to painful stimulus in each back foot seems to come and go. Chances are, hit by a car. Tomorrow I’ll be hopefully getting him to a vet for an X-ray to see if anything is broken. But for tonight, he is on pain medicines and fluids and is warm. He nibbled a little food that the caring finders tried to give him, so some fresh kale is in with him too and we will see if he wants to eat. His prognosis is very guarded right now, but he is safe and that’s what matters tonight ❤️

03/08/2025

Last year, I presented at my state wildlife rehabilitator association’s conference about how to rehab in a smaller space, general set up, organization tricks I’ve learned, etc. The feedback I got was so inspiring, people reaching out saying it was their favorite presentation of the whole conference and how much it helped them. Though I had to back out last second this year from presenting it nationally, I still want to do it. I want to help new rehabbers succeed and do well. I’ve been so passionate about doing this!

I’ve chatted with a few others who are interested in attending, and as of now this Tuesday the 11th Is what works best (edit: time will be at 6pm) I am planning on holding a FREE Zoom class to not only give my revamped presentation on rehab room setup and working from a small place, but also giving out the multi-page interactive handout I’ve created with notes and fun activities for setting things up how you want and working with the space you have. This is for new and aspiring rehabilitators, or existing ones who want to find a better way to make it work!

If you want to attend, please send me a message and I will give you the details and the zoom link. Please share to help me reach our new and aspiring rehabbers who may need a helping hand in getting ready for baby season, as it is here!! ☺️💕

03/07/2025

This is one of my photos from a year ago, NOT one now! But this is what a newborn baby squirrel looks like. Today, it is EXTREMELY windy and all I can think about is the poor squirrel nests up in those trees! Babies are already here, so please keep an eye out for these littles! If you see any of these little guys on the ground, try to reunite with mom! Place the babies in a box with a blanket and a heat source such as a hand warmer and place it near the tree where they were found. You can even look up squirrel baby distress sounds to use to try and lure mom back. Give it a few hours, and if she doesn’t return, call a rehabber such as myself right away! Do NOT attempt any feeding of these fragile babies yourself!!!! Just keep them warm, quiet, and safe and do not handle them further 🙂

03/06/2025

Yall…. Omg! To everyone who so generously sent things from the wishlist, THANK YOU!!! Packages have been arriving for days and I’m breaking down cardboard left and right… minus two big boxes that I cut up and affixed into a two level bunny castle for Benny which he is obsessed with playing in now 😂

As some of my rehab peers are beginning to get their first babies of the season in, I too am preparing for whenever that first call comes. I’ve had a bunch of adult cottontails in the past week but sadly all had injuries that were too graphic to post and the rabbits did not survive. But I’m now pretty much ready for the first group of babies and I am excited! Huge huge thank you again to Kathleen M., Maryellen D., Jen T., Reena, Wendy K., and Emerald for sending all of these supplies for the wildlife in need! You are so appreciated ❤️

03/04/2025

I’m so excited to be a part of this! Join us in our goal to ban the use of harmful rodenticides in Salem!

Raptors, foxes, and other predators balance Massachusetts' ecosystems. But shocking numbers of these iconic creatures have been sickened and killed after eating poisoned rodents. Mass Audubon's Rescue Raptors program supports groups in communities across Massachusetts to reduce the use of these poisons, and wildlife advocates in Salem have organized a local campaign team.

Join Save Salem Wildlife for a gathering to learn how rodent poisons harm wildlife and their plans to reduce rodent poison use in Salem. Wildlife advocates from surrounding communities are welcome!

Register at https://bit.ly/41FzRN2

Sponsored by: Salem Alliance for the Environment, Salem Wildlife Rescue, and Salem's Sustainability, Energy, and Resiliency Committee

Northern Saw-whet Owl © Jennifer Johnston

03/04/2025

Raptors, foxes, and other predators balance Massachusetts' ecosystems. But shocking numbers of these iconic creatures have been sickened and killed after eating poisoned rodents. Mass Audubon's Rescue Raptors program supports groups in communities across Massachusetts to reduce the use of these poisons, and wildlife advocates in Salem have organized a local campaign team.

Join Save Salem Wildlife for a gathering to learn how rodent poisons harm wildlife and their plans to reduce rodent poison use in Salem. Wildlife advocates from surrounding communities are welcome!

Register at https://bit.ly/41FzRN2

Sponsored by: Salem Alliance for the Environment, Salem Wildlife Rescue, and Salem's Sustainability, Energy, and Resiliency Committee

Northern Saw-whet Owl © Jennifer Johnston

03/03/2025

Easter is coming!! PLEASEEEEE do not get bunnies as pets unless you plan on caring for them PROPERLY for their whole lives!!! My bunny Benny, to my suspicion, was probably an Easter bunny dump due to the time of year when he was found in a park here in Salem. He was one of the few lucky ones. Domestic rabbits require specialized care that can be expensive, and they do NOT have the same survival instincts as their wild counterparts to be able to survive well out in the wild! Not to mention, they will be exposed to so many diseases. Don’t do that to them please! They are not an experiment or lesson in “responsibility” for your child; get them a stuffed bunny instead!
LIVE ANIMALS ARE NOT GIFTS!!!!

PSA: know what you're getting into.

03/01/2025

It’s almost time for babies! One thing I get asked is if I have an Amazon wishlist. Admittedly, I’m not the greatest when it comes to updating it 😂 but alas, yesterday I sat down and added/removed things so that it’s pretty accurate. I’m sure there will be more to add as we get into the busy season, but for now, if you are interested in helping with some supplies to prepare for the arrivals of adorable babies, please check this out ☺️ Thank you all so much for caring about the work I do and wanting to help how you can, I appreciate it more than you know!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/22IEBMQCOZTW6?ref_=wl_share