Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife Rehab

09/06/2026

🦝 CLOSED FOR INTAKES… BUT THE PHONE STILL RINGS. 🐾

We have been saying “no new intakes” for a reason.

Right now, our priority is the animals already here. We need to get babies through their growing stages, into pre-release, and eventually back into the wild where they belong. That means our time, and especially our financial resources have to go toward the animals we have already committed to.

But wildlife doesn’t exactly check our intake status before getting into trouble. ❤️‍🩹

This past week brought several situations that reminded us just how difficult it is to truly close your doors when you know there are animals out there that need help.

Last Saturday, we got a call about a tiny female raccoon.

Meet Rory AKA Rumy🦝

She is incredibly small for her age and arrived in poor condition — anemic, covered in fleas and seed ticks, and needing some serious TLC.

Yesterday, another call came in.

A female fawn had been hit by a vehicle and needed veterinary attention immediately. Our wildlife veterinarian was out of town, so rather than have the finder wait, we transported her to WildCare in Noble so she could get the care she needed.

Then last night, we received a transfer from another rehabber.

Meet Okie. 🦝

He is also severely undersized for his age. Once Rory and Okie have completed quarantine and are healthy enough to be together, they will be raised as buddies. ❤️

So yes… we’re still closed for intakes.

And yes… we still sometimes end up helping.

There is an important difference.

We aren’t trying to open the floodgates again. We aren’t suddenly able to take everything that comes through the phone.

We are simply trying to help when there is a critical situation and we can find a way to do it without taking away from the animals already depending on us.

The reality facing wildlife rehabilitation right now is heartbreaking.

There aren’t enough rehabbers.

The ones who are still doing this work are often completely full.

And when someone says, “I don’t have room,” that isn’t because they don’t care. It’s because they do.

There comes a point where taking one more animal means spreading food, medication, space, time, and care thinner across every animal you already have.

That isn’t fair to them.

For us, the babies already in our care come first. Financially, they have to come first. Our responsibility is to get them healthy, through pre-release, and ultimately released.

That’s the part people don’t always see.

Rehabilitation isn’t just about getting an animal through the front door.

It’s about everything that happens afterward , sometimes weeks or months of feeding, cleaning, medical care, growing, learning, building enclosures, and preparing them for life without us.

So for now, our doors remain closed to routine new intakes.

But our hearts aren’t.

When we can help another way, we will. ❤️

And when we can’t, we will keep trying to point people toward someone who can and continue to educate finders.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about who gets credit for saving an animal.

It’s about making sure the animal gets its second chance. 🐾

Welcome, Rory and Okie. Your journey back to the wild starts here. 🦝❤️

Thank you for standing beside Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation. We truly couldn’t do this without your kindness, generosity, and support. ❤️🦌

Amazon wish list NEEDS

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Donate through our Venmo

https://venmo.com/u/Kristy-Buchanan-5

Donate through our Cash App

https://cash.app/$soscwildliferehab

Donate through our Givebutter fundraiser

https://givebutter.com/buy-a-paw-wqhrwu

Checks can be mailed to
PO Box 608
Lone Grove OK 73443

09/06/2026

COWBOY HERE! 🦌

Guess what, everybody?! 🎉

I have some VERY exciting news! My people just purchased my LAST BAG OF FORMULA! 🍼🥹

That means I’m getting SO BIG that I’m almost ready to say goodbye to my bottles and become a big, independent deer! 🦌

If everything continues going as planned, I should be completely weaned by the first week of October! 🎃

It’s hard to believe that I came here as such a tiny, delicate little fawn… and now look at me! I’m growing, losing my spots, finding my independence, and getting closer and closer to the day I can return to the wild. ❤️

I’m not quite ready for that big day yet, but I’m getting there! And every bottle, every meal, and every person who has helped provide for me has gotten me one step closer.

Thank you for helping me grow up wild.

Now if you’ll excuse me… I have some leaves to practice eating and a whole lot of growing left to do! 😂

— Cowboy 🤠🦌

09/05/2026

HAPPY NATIONAL HUMMINGBIRD DAY! ❤️🐦

Today we celebrate one of nature’s tiniest—and most amazing—birds!

Hummingbirds are important pollinators and need our help, especially during migration. 🌺

Want to help?
🌸 Plant native flowers
🍯 Keep feeders clean and use 1 part plain white sugar + 4 parts water
🚫 Skip the red dye
🕷️ Avoid pesticides—hummingbirds need tiny insects for protein too
🐈 Keep cats indoors and provide safe places to rest

And remember, if you find an injured hummingbird, don’t try to feed it. Keep it warm, dark and quiet and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Let’s give these tiny travelers a little extra love today! 🐦🌺❤️

Happy National Hummingbird Day from Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife

Thank you for standing beside Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation. We truly couldn’t do this without your kindness, generosity, and support. ❤️🦌

Amazon wish list NEEDS

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1229C3JQBENZ3?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ggr-subnav-share_N5BGE42HCVM39SET7F1S&language=en-US

Donate through our Venmo

https://venmo.com/u/Kristy-Buchanan-5

Donate through our Cash App

https://cash.app/$soscwildliferehab

Donate through our Givebutter fundraiser

https://givebutter.com/buy-a-paw-wqhrwu

09/04/2026

🦌🤎 LOOK AT COWBOY NOW! 🤎🦌

The first picture is Cowboy when he arrived at the rehab… so tiny, so delicate, and just a little bundle of spots. 🥹

And then there’s Cowboy today — approximately 4 months old! Look how much he has grown! ❤️

He’s also entering an exciting stage of growing up… he’s starting to lose his spots!

The last picture shows Cowboy right in the middle of his shed, and you can actually see his spotted baby coat changing. 🦌

DID YOU KNOW?

Fawns are born with those beautiful white spots for a reason. Their spotted coats help camouflage them in the dappled sunlight and vegetation while they are young and spending time hidden from predators.

As a fawn gets older, that baby coat is gradually replaced with its adult coat. The spots don’t simply disappear overnight , they fade as the fawn sheds its spotted coat and the adult hair grows in.

That means seeing a young deer with patches of spots, patches of darker adult hair, or an uneven-looking coat during this transition can be completely normal. ❤️

Cowboy has gone from a tiny, fragile little fawn who needed so much care… to this big, growing boy who is becoming more and more like the wild deer he was meant to be.

And THIS is why we do what we do.

Not for them to stay babies.

Not for them to become pets.

For the day they grow up, lose those spots, and get to go back where they belong WILD.

Keep growing, Cowboy. Your wild life is waiting. 🤎

Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife

Thank you for standing beside Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation. We truly couldn’t do this without your kindness, generosity, and support. ❤️🦌

Amazon wish list NEEDS

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1229C3JQBENZ3?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ggr-subnav-share_N5BGE42HCVM39SET7F1S&language=en-US

Donate through our Venmo

https://venmo.com/u/Kristy-Buchanan-5

Donate through our Cash App

https://cash.app/$soscwildliferehab

Donate through our Givebutter fundraiser

https://givebutter.com/buy-a-paw-wqhrwu

Checks can be Mailed to
Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife
PO Box 608
Lone Grove OK 73443

09/03/2026

SEPTEMBER 3 — WILDERNESS ACT ANNIVERSARY

Today, we remember an important moment in conservation history.

On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law. This landmark legislation established the National Wilderness Preservation System, creating a way to protect millions of acres of federal public land from development and preserve these places for future generations.

And did you know that the entire month of September is recognized as National Wilderness Month? 🌿

But what does wilderness have to do with wildlife rehabilitation?

Everything.

Our goal as wildlife rehabilitators isn’t simply to save an animal’s life. The ultimate goal is release — giving that animal the opportunity to return to the wild and live as a wild animal should.

A rescued fawn needs forests and fields.
A raccoon needs places to forage, climb and den.
An opossum needs natural habitat to explore and find food.
A squirrel needs trees.
A bird needs the freedom to fly.

Rehabilitation is only one small part of the journey. Protecting the places wildlife call home is what gives that second chance somewhere to go.

🌎 This National Wilderness Month, remember:

Wildlife doesn’t need us to make the wild theirs.

They need us to leave enough of it wild.

So today, take a moment to appreciate the forests, grasslands, rivers, wetlands and wild spaces around you. Teach your children why they matter. Pick up trash. Leave wildlife where it belongs. Plant native plants. Protect the habitat in your own backyard.

Because when we protect wild places, we protect the wildlife that depends on them. 🐾🌲

Happy National Wilderness Month from Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation.

We don’t just want to give wildlife a second chance. We want to make sure there is still a wild world waiting for them when that second chance comes.

09/03/2026

Updated 2:30pm 9/6/26

🐾 BUY A PAW — GIVE A LIFE A SECOND CHANCE 🐾

Behind every animal that comes through our doors is a story.

A tiny fawn who should still be beside its mama.
A baby raccoon who should still be growing up with its family.
A little life that suddenly finds itself scared, hungry, injured, and alone.

And in that moment, we become their second chance.

We feed them. We care for them. We clean, comfort, worry, celebrate the good days, and grieve the ones we lose.

But the greatest reward is the day they no longer need us.

The day they are strong enough to walk, climb, run, or crawl back into the wild where they belong.

That is what every paw helps make possible.

🐾 50 paws to fill
🐾 Paws range from $1–$100
🐾 Our goal: $1,000

🐾 WILL YOU BUY A PAW TODAY?

Pick a paw. Claim it. Help us fill it.

Maybe your paw is $1.
Maybe it’s $5.
Maybe you can take a $25, $50, or $100 paw.

There is no donation too small when 50 people come together for the same purpose.

Your paw could help put formula in a bottle, food in a bowl, or supplies on the shelf for an animal who has nowhere else to go.

And when we reach $1,000, every single paw will represent someone who chose to stand behind a wild life that needed a chance. ❤️

👉 Choose your paw TODAY and help us fill all 50.

👉 Then share this fundraiser so someone else can claim a paw, too.

You don’t have to save an entire wildlife population.

Just help us save the little life in front of us.

🐾 BUY A PAW. BE THEIR SECOND CHANCE. 🐾

Amazon wish list NEEDS

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Donate through our Venmo

https://venmo.com/u/Kristy-Buchanan-5

Donate through our Cash App

https://cash.app/$soscwildliferehab

Donate through our Givebutter fundraiser

https://givebutter.com/buy-a-paw-wqhrwu

Mail Checks to
Southern OK Second Chance
PO Box 608
Lone Grove, OK 73443

(All donations are Tax deductible)

Southern OK Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation
Carter County, Oklahoma

09/02/2026

Learning skills needed for release!!

08/30/2026