Save Peanut

12/29/2023

Peanut has discovered cottage cheese. 😋❤️
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

12/26/2023

Peanut gave homemade spaetzle a try and loved it! 😋
(Spaetzle or Spätzle are German egg noodles.)
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

12/25/2023

Peanut taking part of the annual Fourwands Wildlife Christmas Morning Popcorn Ball Party!
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

12/15/2023

Peanut is healing nicely and her appetite is starting to pick up. She's still limited to soft food for now. If you look VERY closely, you can see the suture sticking out of the front of her mouth. That should come out on its own very soon. ❤️‍🩹
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

12/13/2023

Peanut is starting to feel better. She has a lot less congestion and her appetite is starting to return. ❤️
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here. She recently had surgery to remove a mass near the base of her top right incisor.)

12/11/2023

12/10/2023

Peanut is still quite congested after surgery so we hung out in the bathroom with a steamy shower running. That helped loosen things up a bit. ❤️‍🩹
I am keeping a humidifier running near her cage as well.
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here. She recently had surgery to remove a mass near the base of her top right incisor.)

12/10/2023

She is home!!!
I don't think there is a word that truly articulates how grateful I feel but THANK YOU to Cheryl at We Are Their Voice - Wildlife Care and Rescue LLC, Dr Hopf and the staff at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's The Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital, my husband for driving Peanut there and back, and the many people who donated, shared and offered kind words of support which helped this come together with such short notice. You saved Peanut's life. YOU are heroes!

12/09/2023

Thank you, Cheryl, for the wonderful care you gave Peanut. ❤️

12/07/2023

That's Peanut's upper right incisor with a bony mass attached.

Some of Dr Hopf's discharge notes:
Peanut was bright and alert on exam. She had bilateral mature cataracts but held her eyes open and comfortably. Her heart and
lung sounds were normal. Her weight was 668g and her body condition was a 6/9. She does have excellent muscle mass and seems very strong. She was placed under anesthesia for repeated
radiographs of her skull in order to obtain oblique views and visualize all four incisors. After assessment of the radiographs, her
right maxillary incisor was surgically removed. There was a small bone mass at the apex (end) of the tooth, but the entire tooth
was successfully removed. The defect in the mucosa was closed with a single suture in order to protect the underlying tissue and
prevent debris from getting into the open wound. As the root of the tooth is seated in the sinuses, she had some bloody
discharge from her nostrils during surgery.

I can't thank you all enough for the tremendous support you have offered to Peanut and myself. She was saved thanks to your generosity. There aren't words that fit the gratitude I am feeling. All I have is thank you... but I mean it with every bit of my soul. Thank you. ❤

12/07/2023

12/07/2023

SHE'S OK!!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 🎉🎉🎉

Dr Hopf just called. Surgery is complete and Peanut is awake.
Dr Hopf removed a "bony mass" from the base of Peanut's right incisor. She said to confirm it as an odontoma would require it to be checked at the lab but she didn't think that was necessary as she got all of it out. She said that Peanut was reactive when they got to that part of the surgery so they believe the mass was causing her pain and the reason why she had lost weight. Her blood results were otherwise normal. The tooth will be sent home with Peanut so I will post pics of the tooth and attached mass when she gets home this weekend.
I think I just held my breath for 2.5 hours so I think I am going to try breathing now.

Thank you all soooo much. Hopefully We Are Their Voice - Wildlife Care and Rescue LLC will post a pic later today.

12/06/2023

Peanut should be checking in now.

Thank you, We Are Their Voice - Wildlife Care and Rescue LLC . ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

12/05/2023

Peanut update...

12/02/2023

❤️❤️❤️

Save Peanut FourWands Wildlife Rehabilitation
Peanut has tucked herself right in.

Peanut is staying with us as she awaits her visit to The Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital on Wednesday for odontoma surgery.
She is also Blind.

12/02/2023

It took a little while to get all of this together but we now have a plan in place for Peanut.
On Wednesday, Peanut will be seen at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine 's Janet L Swanson Wildlife Hospital for the treatment of what appears to be an odontoma (a dental tumor) on her top right incisor.
While odontoma are non-cancerous, they continue to grow, causing pain, difficulty breathing and eventually causing the animal to stop eating. Untreated, they are fatal.
I am deeply grateful to Cheryl at We Are Their Voice - Wildlife Care and Rescue LLC who will be taking in Peanut this weekend and hosting her prior to Peanut's appointment on Wednesday. (I am sure Cheryl will post photos. 🙏🏻❤️). This eliminates the need for a hotel but it will mean that we will need to make two 10 hour round-trips. (Thank you to my AMAZING husband for making the trips!!)
I do not have an estimate yet as the attending veterinarian is out until Monday so I may need to adjust the fundraiser once I have spoken with them. I am basing the current fundraiser amount on a previous patient that I sent to Cornell several years ago for a similar issue.
Right now, I'm scared. You know how much Peanut means to me. I am so grateful for the many people who have offered support both financially as well as the well wishes for Peanut.
https://gofund.me/856fb06d

Donations can also be accepted via Venmo:Fourwandswildlife

If you are unable to donate, please spread the word. Every bit helps.
Thank you so very very much . 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

11/30/2023

An odontoma is a benign dental tumor. They are not uncommon in squirrels. Sometimes they are caused by earlier damage to the teeth, sometimes they just form randomly.
Peanut appears to have an odontoma on her top right incisor. This can be seen in the first photo alongside the yellow marker. The x-rays will be sent to Cornell University's wildlife hospital for confirmation. Once confirmed, we will schedule Peanut for surgery to remove the odontoma. Without surgery, it will be fatal

I will keep you updated once we have confirmation and an estimate for the cost of the surgery. I am, unfortunately, going to need to fundraise for this. 😞

10/27/2023

Enrichment is very important to wildlife in captivity and keeping a blind squirrel from being bored can be a challenge... Unless you have 🧻.
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

10/26/2023

Madam Peanut is prepping for Halloween by carving her own pumpkin. 🎃
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

10/20/2023

Total annihilation of pinecones. ❤️
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

10/19/2023

Make yourself comfortable, Peanut. Enjoy your piece of freeze dried mango. ❤️
(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

10/17/2023

Madam Peanut ravaging her breakfast broccolini. 💚
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and is a permanent resident here.)

10/14/2023

A great way to wrap up a busy week. ❤️

(For newer followers, Madam Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

09/16/2023

I gave Peanut a tiger striped fig this afternoon. It looks like she's enjoying getting to the fruity center, right?
I wish I had gotten the full video because as soon as she got to the flesh, she dropped it and frantically started wiping her face on everything. She wasn't impressed! 😂

(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and is a permanent resident here.)

09/07/2023

While the rest of New England and elsewhere in the country are trying to avoid the heat, Peanut decided it was a good time to soak up some sun. ❤️

09/02/2023

Peanut giving rambutan a try. 😋
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and is a permanent resident here.)

08/11/2023

Peanut celebrated with a (baked) sweet potato fry. 🧡
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is licensed as an educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

08/05/2023

Scritches and cuddles for Madam Peanut. ❤️
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is a licensed educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)

08/04/2023

I gave Peanut a tiny quarter-size piece of pizza and I'm pretty sure she thought it was the greatest thing she's ever tasted. ❤️
(For newer followers, Peanut is a 10 year old blind squirrel. She is a licensed educational ambassador and a permanent resident here.)