Please help the wild orphans!

They come in shoeboxes, pet carriers, and cardboard shipping boxes. And often in the outstretched arms of the person who found the poor orphaned squirrel, raccoon or other animal, asking "can you save her?"

They are tiny, cold, hungry, and scared, and usually in pain due to dehydration. Wondering what happened to mom and why she hasn’t come back to feed and protect them. And if they are found alone, they are confused as to where their brothers and sisters have gone, as they depend on them for company and

warmth while mom is out getting food (tiny babies lack the ability to regulate their body temperature and need supplemental heat).

Mom may have been hit by a car, evicted by homeowners, attacked by another animal, or scared off by dogs or people while relocating the rest of the family. These scared babies' only hope is licensed wildlife rehabilitation. And the person who found them desperately wants someone to save them.

But the animals will need special formula, additional food as they grow, specific shelter for their species, vaccines, and

often round-the-clock first aid and medical care. And all of these things cost money!

Last year, Snooccars Wildlife Center, which is run out of the founder Sandra Boles’s home, took in over 100 animals, including squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks and a

golden mantle. Most of the animals in care come in due to human conflict. Snooccars Wildlife treats orphaned, injured, and sick wildlife from throughout Colorado’s front range. The founder, Sandra, does most of the rehabilitation work, with help from other volunteers. This often requires late night feedings (which means little sleep!) and she pays for everything out of her pocket with help from some donations. Sandra, like many wildlife rehabilitators, is a volunteer herself.

Sandra recently rehabilitated an adult raccoon who was found with an injured back leg. Clearly suffering, he was not putting any weight on the leg. Quite the sweetheart, he required many vet visits and had a serious leg infection, which was thankfully treatable but required 30 days of twice-daily injections

and cost over $1200!

For over 10 years, all animals raised and rehabilitated at Snooccars have been taken care of by volunteers, including the founder Sandra, who has never taken a salary. That is thousands of hours of volunteer work to take care of vulnerable orphaned and injured wildlife. This year Sandra is facing some personal medical issues and as a result, would like to hire some part-time help for the first time ever to enable her to continue to help abandoned and needy wildlife.

We are fortunate to live in a state that’s rich in wildlife! But as humans, we sometimes get in the way. Our dog scares a mother raccoon. We put a cap on the chimney to keep wildlife out (or call a pest control company to evict the mother), not realizing there are babies behind until we hear them crying. A tree gets cut down, causing the mother squirrel to run away

in fright and destroying their home. A car hits a mother raccoon, leaving her babies abandoned in their den. A baby raccoon gets stuck in a fence, causing the mom to have to make the difficult choice to protect the rest of the family and leave that one behind. Or a car hits a raccoon or squirrel, leaving them injured on the side of the road, in desperate need of help. All these scenarios result in animals being brought into wildlife rehabilitation. Sandra wants to save as many animals as possible. Won’t you please help save the wild orphaned babies?

Here’s how your donation helps:

$25 buys a set of baby bottles and specially designed nipples to feed the orphans

$50 buys 20 rabies vaccines

$100 pays for a vet visit

$200 pays for a container of special formulated formula for raccoons or squirrels, or a full tray of vaccines for the animals

$500 can cover the costs of x-rays and additional vet care for an injured animal

$1000 can pay for surgery and multiple vet visits for an injured animal, or cover a year's worth of vaccines

$5000 can pay for a part-time assistant for most of the high season.

All donations are tax-deductible to the extent of the

law, as Snooccars Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Thank you for caring!