Helped save a life today; UPDATE Pg 2 Post 29

[Freedom]

I was driving and saw an odd brown ball shape roll off from the front of the car ahead of me. That car jammed on his brakes and swerved left, then proceeded. I couldn't believe what I saw, so I cautiously pulled around, over and stopped to check.

A young woodchuck had tried to cross the road in mid day! Totally stunned, I could easily see it was breathing still, but it didn't budge when I carefully moved my foot near. So I put it in the car and returned home. As I'm driving, it started to come around and moved so it was facing me. I was a bit nervous at that, I thought "what if he reacts like a feral cat? I'm confined in the car with a loose wild animal!," but figured I was in for the long haul now. Got home, grabbed a carrier and moved it into that.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/2008/Aug%201%20Woodchuck/IMG_1668Small.jpg

I checked on the Internet and found the small mammal rehabilitation was handled by The Wildlife clinic, so I drove him(?) there. The doctor was called to come check him over, was going to get there about 1 PM. I phoned once, but only got the voice mail so will have to wait until tomorrow to learn more.

[Kirsten]

Wow! Never saw such an animal before. :eek:

It's wonderful what you did, and I really hope they can help this little guy at the clinic.

Thanks for helping this animal!
Please keep us updated.

Kirsten

[RICHARD]

I was a bit nervous at that, I thought "what if he reacts like a feral cat? I'm confined in the car with a loose wild animal!," but figured I was in for the long haul now. Got home, grabbed a carrier and moved it into that.






The Auto Club Manual says that if you do pick up a injured animal and attempt to move it,you should remember this in case the animal goes off on you while you are driving.

"If the injured animal becomes aggravated and gets loose inside the vehicle, Aim the car toward any pole, fence or wall, this will set off the airbags and momentarily stun it, so you can safely exit the vehicle.":confused:

[lvpets2002]

:love: How so Sweet & Brave for you to have picked up this wittle one.. This baby is just too Cute.. Hope all is ok & the baby can go back to the wild.. Thanks Freedom

[Scooter's Mom]

Aww, you're a good samaritan. I hope the little one makes it okay! I've never seen a woodchuck before.

[moosmom]

Great job Sandie!!!!

Poor thing. He was probably just stunned. Hope he's not hurt.

[RockyRoad]

Wow, I`ve never seen a woodchuck before either! Good job helping him out - I`m sure he appreciates it in some way. :)

[Freedom]

The Auto Club Manual says that if you do pick up a injured animal and attempt to move it,you should remember this in case the animal goes off on you while you are driving.

"If the injured animal becomes aggravated and gets loose inside the vehicle, Aim the car toward any pole, fence or wall, this will set off the airbags and momentarily stun it, so you can safely exit the vehicle.":confused:
Richard, I have a feeling that will only succeed in stunning ME, not the critter! ;)

[krazyaboutkatz]

For some reason I misread this and I was expecting to see a very small chipmunk.LOL I've never seen a woodchuck either and I sure hope he'll be okay. I'm glad that you were there to save him.:)

[jennielynn1970]

Is a woodchuck the same as a groundhog? He looks like a big, chubby sucker!

I'm still a bit freaked out by groundhogs, I got chased by one when I was about 12, and those babies can run! :eek: :p

I hope that he/she will be ok. I'm glad that he didn't flip out while you were in the car! That would have been scary!

[K9karen]

Luckily, Mz Logan is sleeping..and I'll never tell.
Looks like, what we call a groundhog. Mz Logan's favorite pasttime (besides catching moles) is to corner them and harrass them. She lets them get away because she can outrun the fat suckers anyday.

You did a really good deed. I'm glad you weren't injured. I guess it sensed you were helping.

How'd ya get it in the carrier, anyways????

[Pam]

WOW!! You are very brave. I would have been way too afraid to touch him. Let us know what happens!

[Freedom]

Yes, groundhog, woodchuck, same thing. (I had to google it and check, wasn't sure myself!)

The photo is misleading, he was small, maybe 2 pounds at most. Definitely a youngster.

Woodchucks are rodents and are 'rabies vector' mammals. This means they can carry the rabies virus on their fur and transmit it to our skin, so you aren't supposed to touch them directly. I wasn't thinking about that, all I thought about was fleas, te hee. Turns out rodents, except for squirrels, are very clean animals and don't have fleas, ticks or mites. Woodchucks clean themselves and each other regularly. They would only have those things if they were ill and staying still in one place for a length of time. (As you can see, I learned a LOT yesterday! Didn't know ANY of this.)



How'd ya get it in the carrier, anyways????
Being a dog owner, I always have plastic bags -- in my car, in my pockets. First I gently nudged him with my foot. But he was totally stunned and in shock there in the street and didn't move. I didn't want him biting me out of either fear or pain! So as he didn't budge, I put used the plastic bags picked him up and put him on the floor on the front passenger side. Turned around and headed for home. On that short drive is when he started to recover and moved around to face me. That's when I started to really THINK about what I was doing. :rolleyes: I left the car in the driveway because I didn't want him loose in the garage if he escaped as I transferred him to the carrier. Ran in and got the carrier, and used the plastic bags again. Now the carrier was on the front passenger seat and the door wouldn't remain open so I had to pick him up with one hand. That was a bit awkward, and he was feeling a bit better and wriggled once; but only once. :( Not sure if he was sore or what. So in he went.

Now for the REALLY nutty thing. I put the carrier in the garage (shady), went in for my camera, and had to open the carrier door again to get a photo as I KNEW all my PT friends would want to see! At this point, I was just asking for him to escape, but he didn't move a muscle even when the flash went off. Just blinked his eyes.

When I got him to the clinic, I asked about him being so still in the carrier. They said he is feeling "really crappy" just now, because that is not at all normal for a wild one. Oh they also said for an adult I would have needed a much larger carrier, would never fit an adult in this size carrier.

When they tried to get him out (wearing those thick leather gloves) he held on with all his claws, he did NOT want to leave, he hee. They put him in their carrier with a blanket and wrapped a towel all over it. Then that went into a "bin" which has heating lamps in it. That is where he was to wait for the vet to arrive.

BTW I keep saying "he" but have no idea if it is male or female.

[columbine]

I always think of woodchucks as "he" because I never met a Chuck who was a girl! Anyway, thank you for helping out this confused little critter, and for keeping us posted.

Love, Columbine

[DJFyrewolf36]

Good for you for saving this little guy. Definately a youngin, Ive seen Groundhogs that looked to be about 40 lbs :eek:
I hope he/she is ok! Keep us posted!

[ramanth]

Awww!! Good for you!!

I was on my way to my parents when I saw a dead raccoon and three babies milling in and out of the road around her. :(

So I gathered them up and called the local wildlife rehab and they told me to put them back where I found them and that they'd get along on their own.

:(

Guess if they are not injured, they don't take them.

[CathyBogart]

What a cutie pie! I'm glad you found him.

[jazzcat]

Aww, what a cute critter. You were very brave to save him.

There used to be a groundhog/woodchuck that would come into my neighbors backyard and play with the kid's basketball. He would roll it around in the grass. Sure wished I'd had a video camera back then.

[Randi]

You're a hero!! :) So glad you got him to a vet to be checked out. I hope he's OK and will be put back where he belongs - far from any roads!

[Barbara]

I'm very impressed by what you did! Hope this guy is ok. And thanks for showing what a woodchuck is. Never heard of them before ;)

[shais_mom]

I was driving and saw an odd brown ball shape roll off from the front of the cat in front of me.

the what?!

I assume you meant car.
Interesting.
hope he's alright.

[Pam]

the what?!

I assume you meant car.


I would never make it as a proof reader. I read right past that. Can you imagine a cat that big? :D

[Ginger's Mom]

I wasn't sure what a woodchuck looked like either, and when I saw it I thought oh, they look kind of like groundhogs, lol. He does look big. He's only about 2 pounds? It was so nice of you to have help this little guy out. He obviously appreciates it, as he didn't want to get out of your nice safe carrier. Let us know what the vet says.

[Freedom]

Shais Mom, thanks for the 'heads up," I fixed that. Too funny!

Ginger's Mom, groundhog and woodchuck are the same.

[lizbud]

Awww!! Good for you!!

I was on my way to my parents when I saw a dead raccoon and three babies milling in and out of the road around her. :(

So I gathered them up and called the local wildlife rehab and they told me to put them back where I found them and that they'd get along on their own.

:(

Guess if they are not injured, they don't take them.



Sounds like the janitor of the wildlife rehab is answering their phone again.:rolleyes:

The dead momma is sure not going to come back to life on her own.:( I hope
the babies were old enough to survive on their own.

[Muddy4paws]

wow!! :eek:


I've never seen one before! they sounds pretty wild too lol! Trust you to go into action without thinking :P Thats the rescuerer in you! :D

I'm glad you managed to catch him! I dont think I would of been able to lol

[Cataholic]

I can't believe how many people haven't ever seen a woodchuck before!!! Don't you know the diddy, "how much wood can a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?"

Up date us, please!!

[pitc9]

What a wonderful thing for you to do!

I hope you get an update from them!

[Freedom]

Just phoned for a report.

Dr Chan checked him over on Friday. No fractures, no injuries that she could find. They fed him and let him loose and . . .

he RAN like the dickens into the woods!

I am happy for him, and relieved he didn't decide to RUN while loose in my car! :eek::D

[Kirsten]

Glad to hear he's fine! :) He's probably happy to be back in the woods.

Well, hope he knows that you saved his life! LOL ;)

Kirsten

[Medusa]

When I was trapping ferals to alter and release, I trapped groundhogs several times, by accident, of course. One groundhog came up on my porch every day and ate the cat chow out of the bowl right next to the cats. He sure was a mess, all scarred up so I named him Scarface. Yodie loved him and would jump on his back while he ate, not to attack him, just because I think she liked sitting there and Scarface didn't seem to mind. When I went back to the old house for the last time before moving here, Scarface was trapped again. A vet tech from my old vet's office rescued anything and she told me that if I could trap him that she would take him. So I took him in to the vet's office but she was off that day and the new vet who had just bought the practice wouldn't allow me to leave Scarface there. So I released him back to my old house. I would often drive over there to see if I could see him again but the new owner converted the house into an office building, so I think Scarface moved on.

I'm so glad that you trapped him and that he checked out ok. My late senior friend Helen told me that groundhogs make great house pets. I had to take her word on that one. LOL Their teeth are a little too sharp for my tastes and when they get angry, they snap those little suckers loudly! Groundhogs were getting into fights all the time where I lived. As long as they behaved, I allowed them to feed right along w/the cats but if they fought w/each other or on the rare occasion that they lunged at me, they were outa here! One got up on its hind legs and snapped its teeth at me because I protected a little kitten that it lunged at, so I took a broom and shooed it away. When I read that you had it in the car w/you, I thought how lucky you were that it was fairly tame. Good job, girl! :) Don't be surprised if skunks are next. A skunk slept in one of the shelters that I had set up for the cats and he fed alongside the cats, too, and never once sprayed. Ah, the things we do for critters, huh?

[cmayer31]

Awesome! I'm glad the little guy checked out all right and was able to make it back out in the world. He's lucky you came along to help him out! :)

I also can't help but think... How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck can't chuck wood? :p:o

[Freedom]

cmayer:

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck COULD chuck wood?

If a woodchuck COULD chuck wood, he'd chuck all the wood that a woodchuck COULD! --
If a woodchuck COULD chuck wood.

[cmayer31]

lol! :D