When you think of animal rescues, your first thought is usually people helping out a stray dog or cat. Sometimes even a bigger animal like a bear or deer. However, not many people’s first thought would be a raccoon rescue. Raccoons happen to be quite mischievous animals, however, that doesn’t mean that they don’t need help from time to time. When one woman discovered a baby raccoon in her backyard, she instantly fell in love with her. You won’t believe how this rescue ended up.
20. “Baked Potato”
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Bethany Swindell was heading out of her home in Russellville, Arkansas when she came across something strange. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something that looked like a “baked potato” at the base of a tree near her house.
19. Inspecting
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Swindell decided that she would go and investigate the situation to see what was near the tree. As she looked around she quickly realized that the “baked potato” was actually a tiny baby raccoon. It had fallen out of the tree and was unable to move.
18. So Small
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The raccoon was so tiny that its eyes still hadn’t even opened. It couldn’t have been more than a week or two old. As Bethany looked around, she saw the mother raccoon looking down.
17. Experienced
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Throughout her life, Swindell had rescued wildlife animals with her family so she knew that she shouldn’t move the baby. She figured that the mother raccoon just needed space to climb down and get the baby. So Swindell and her husband went on their way to dinner.
16. Five Hours Later
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Five hours later, Swindell and her husband returned home from their night out. However, Bethany was surprised to find the baby raccoon still on the ground without the mother to be found. She knew at this point that she couldn’t just leave the baby out there to die.
15. Calling For Help
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Bethany picked up the helpless raccoon and brought her into the house. She wrapped the raccoon up in blankets to help keep her warm. Then she began to call wildlife facilities, however, none of them could offer her any help as they weren’t experienced in taking care of raccoons.
14. Raising Her
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Since Bethany already had experience with raising wild animals, she decided to take on the responsibility herself. She named the small raccoon “June” since that was the month she discovered her in. Although Bethany had experience, there was still a lot of things that she hadn’t anticipated.
13. Intimidating Experience
The first few nights that Bethany had June were incredibly intimidating. She kept a watchful eye on June and stayed up a lot throughout the night. Although June didn’t have any injuries, she was still worried about her.
12. Helpless
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“She was helpless when we found her since her eyes were still closed. We had to do everything her real mom would do – feed her, stimulate her to go to the bathroom, and keep her warm,” Bethany said.
11. Business Partner
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Since Bethany owns her own business, she was able to bring June in with her every day. For the next few months, June accompanied Bethany everywhere she went. Everyone adored June, including Bethany’s coworkers.
10. New Friends
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Whenever Bethany needed a break from being a mom, she would bring June over to her parent’s house. June loved being at her grandparent’s house and became fast friends with their Pekingese named Reese.
9. Getting Older
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As June got older, her personality started to show more and more. She quickly grew fond of various activities such as swimming and climbing around the house. Bethany was so happy to see June adjusting so well, however, there was still another big concern.
8. Back To The Wild
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Even though Bethany was so happy about June’s progress, she was really worried about releasing her into the wild. The couple made a house in the backyard for June, however, the raccoon would continue to use the dog door to get back into the house.
7. Separation Anxiety
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“She just wants to be wherever her people are and cries if she’s left alone,” Bethany said. “She has separation anxiety, so being all alone outside in the wild isn’t what June wants. We let her play in the creek and climb trees, which she loves to do as long as we are there with her!”
6. Official Family Member
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Eventually, June was declared an official member of the family! Her favorite thing to do is curl up in bed with her mom and dad. The couple adored June so much that they decided to extend their family even more.
5. New Puppy
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Bethany and her husband decided to adopt a Vizsla puppy named Waffles. So how did June react to the new family member? Well, it seems that the two of them fell in love immediately!
4. Inseparable
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June and Waffles are practically inseparable at this point. They follow each other around the house and the two of them love to cuddle up and get some belly rubs. Bethany is especially astonished by just how social June is with other people.
3. Always Sharing
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June and Waffles have gotten into the habit of sharing everything together. From their food to their toys, these two love each other too much to be selfish. Even though Waffles is younger than June, he acts as June’s protector whenever they go out together.
2. Incredibly Happy
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Bethany and her husband are both so incredibly happy with their unique family. Even though their pets are from two entirely different species, it hasn’t seemed to negatively impact the situation at all. Instead, the two siblings love each other very much.
1. Lucky Raccoon
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June happens to be quite a lucky raccoon. Thankfully Bethany was around to rescue June when she was just a baby! Now the family is happy and complete.