Salem Wildlife Rescue

10/08/2026

An update on the sweet baby girl…

I came in this morning to feed her, so happy to get to see her tiny face…. And found that she didn’t make it. Why, I have no idea. Other than her eye issues, she was otherwise seeming just fine. Even when I was in there at midnight last night to feed her, she seemed just fine.

She was found by a dog after all. Perhaps something got injured internally that we couldn’t see. Perhaps there was something else going on that we didn’t/couldn’t know about. I thought her breathing looked slightly off last night, but couldn’t quite tell for sure. But it’s possible that maybe something was up with her lungs, maybe an infection? I don’t know. All I know is that it is a sad day here at the rescue and not an update that I wanted to have to make.

To anyone who donated, thank you. It will still go to the care of other animals in need who will come through these doors. Necessary funding to stay afloat since the move when I’ve had a hard time doing so.

10/07/2026

A SALEM WILDLIFE FIRST!!! Something I’ve been secretly dying for inside for years… a leucistic eastern gray squirrel!!! 😍 What this means is unlike albino, which has red eyes and the absence of pigment in the fur, this squirrel just has white fur. Still a genetic anomaly, but cool nonetheless!

She appears to be blind in one eye per the vet I picked her up from, and has a corneal ulcer in the other eye. She appears to have some vision in that eye, and we are hoping that with the eye drops, that can heal and restore her vision. I consulted with another rescue who said that as long as vision is restored in that eye, she can still be released as she is so young and can adapt! It looks like she has been blind in that eye for quite a while, so this is probably all she knows anyway. She was found on the ground by a dog, and thankfully does not appear to have any injuries from the dog!

As of now, she is here warm and safe, definitely a little unhappy, and on a regimen of medication to hopefully help her start feeling better!

When I walked into the vet office to pick her up, my jaw literally dropped! Such a gorgeous girl and one of my bucket list critters!! She may end up having to be here with me or another rescue for overwintering depending how she does. I didn’t expect any squirrel calls this late so I am very low on squirrel supplies that I have to order, so I am attaching a button to this post in case you’d like to help out with ordering the special food and enrichment she will need! And I think a special case like this does deserve a name!

10/07/2026

Though this story doesn’t have the happiest ending, nonetheless, it is very sweet!

Yesterday, I received a text message from a good friend with a video... Her youngest daughter had found a bunny by her trampoline, and ran excitedly to tell her that she found “a sleeping bunny”. Unfortunately the bunny was very injured and unable to move, but who has the heart to tell the sweetest 5 year old that??? To her, bunny was sleeping but needed to come to “Miss Jess’s rescue”! Her oldest son saw that the rabbit was injured and laying there in rough shape, and was heartbroken.

The first picture is upon arrival to the rescue. The rabbit was in shock from the injuries and cold to the touch, so I brought him back to the rescue for pain meds, oxygen, and some time in the incubator. He had some nasty wounds all over his body, and a major one right where the spine meets the pelvis.

In the evening, I came in to check on him again which is when I took the second photo where he was actually sitting upright as much as he could and alert! Though the outcome would possibly have been grim as he couldn’t move his lower half, it felt like a great sign that he was sitting up and no longer laying flat and heavy breathing. I started to have some hope. We updated the kids that the bunny was doing much better and they were very happy… Just for the rabbit to pass away a short while later 😔

Though Miss Jess couldn’t be the hero and save this one and release him to run back free in the yard (she did tell the kids that he miraculously healed and I released him so they wouldn’t be sad 😅), I at least did what I could to make sure he was comfortable and not in pain for his final moments. We had an appointment scheduled this morning for an x-ray at the vet that he sadly didn’t make it to.

And this is why we always love to provide education to children on what to do if you find an animal in need of help. A lot of the time, animals in need are found by children just playing outside. And if they know not to attempt to touch the animal and to instead get an adult, it gives the animal less stress and a better chance, as well as keeps the child safe! If you have kids, it’s great to tell them what to do if they find an injured or orphaned animal: don’t pet or touch them without gloves on, do not attempt to feed them, and to run and get an adult right away who can contact a licensed rescue!

Huge thank you to sweet little Eevee for finding this rabbit and helping to save him! Though it wasn’t the ideal outcome, he didn’t pass away on the cold wet ground where he was found; he was in a warm cozy incubator with medicine that took away his pain ❤️

09/10/2026

Massachusetts friends! If you’re in/near Peabody and have some towels you no longer need, please consider dropping them off with Our Family Vet!! They took the best care of my cats in my time in Massachusetts and I miss them dearly 💕

09/06/2026

What a week it’s been! These are two of the four baby cottontails that are here. Aren’t they just the sweetest?! Two events have happened that I wanted to share.

Let’s start with the not so good. The other day I received an email from PayPal that someone donated via an “e-check”, which I’ve never seen before, and that it would be pending for a few days before clearing. I go to my actual account to see if it was real. Sure enough, multiple transactions pending totaling… $50,000!!!! As any tiny nonprofit would be, I was ecstatic and crying and thinking of how much good I could do with it. I told some friends and they all thought that it was too good to be true. The person’s name doesn’t follow my rescue page. How did they find me? The email came from what seemed like a legitimate email, but it being from an Outlook email gave one friend a red flag. Still, I stayed hopeful.
Yesterday I logged in to check… sure enough everything was canceled. I’ll be honest, I was disappointed. I was holding out on sending a thank you email until I knew it cleared and was legit, in case it was some type of scam. Again, never received an e-check before and didn’t know it was a thing on PayPal. Why would anyone prey on a tiny nonprofit like that? It’s cruel…….

But let’s finish up the post with something good. Last post I hinted about something good in the works. So… Friday I finally had an inspection by the USDA after months of waiting. I applied to have an educational ambassador animal for the rescue! (what that is, is an animal that is considered not releasable back to the wild but would otherwise have quality of life in captivity. It’s not very common for a wild animal especially the older they are when they come in, but sometimes there are ones who need placement with educational facilities and a lot of of those facilities may not have the space so the animal ends up euthanized.) I’m excited to say that I passed the inspection with what seemed like flying colors! The inspector had zero complaints or any suggestions for change and was very impressed with the rehab room setup. I have another random unannounced inspection sometime within the next 90 days, and then from there it’s every year it’ll be a random visit.
We aren’t in the clear yet; I still need to wait for the certificate to arrive and then be cleared by the state of North Carolina to even be allowed. I emailed immediately on Friday and waiting to see what I need to do. I haven’t done any educational presentations since moving here because I’ve been trying to get myself established and make a name for myself here, and I’m hoping that my letters of recommendation and previous educational presentations in my time in Massachusetts qualify, depending what they are looking for. I would only have the space for one education animal due to my space restraints, and that would be for an opossum! So before I take in an opossum who would qualify for placement, all of these hurdles need to be approved by the regulatory bodies in charge.

That was part of the reason why I was really excited about the potential of the large donation… Maybe it could have allowed me to find a bigger place so I could take in an additional education animal or give an even bigger set up to just one. To be able to take in more animals at the rescue since an education animal would take up one of the large cages that I have in my small rehab room. To be able to consistently care for that education animal for the duration of their lifespan and provide all of the medical care and food and enrichment and everything that they will need. My intuition had said it was probably too good to be true, and sure enough it was. But that doesn’t mean it still isn’t disappointing and heartbreaking that something potentially so life changing was ripped out from under me before it even came to fruition. But hopefully one day it will happen and actually be legitimate!!!

Fingers crossed that I hear back soon from NC Wildlife with what to do to apply for approval before getting cleared for actually taking in an animal, and that I get approved as well! I would be so disappointed to go through this whole USDA process, which was not very cheap, just to not be able to take in an animal while living in this state!!

08/27/2026

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts! It’s been a little slow over here since a lot of people still don’t know I exist in NC yet. And right now I am only taking cottontails so I’ve been unable to jump in for squirrel calls. I am going back home for about two days at the end of September, so since I don’t have help to formula feed a bunch of babies, I can only take what will be released before I leave! And I will be fully back open once I return.

Multiple cottontails have come in this month thanks to cat and dog attacks, who didn’t make it. But I do have a cottontail here who will be released in the coming days after surviving their injuries, which is wonderful!

Something possibly exciting is in the works, I don’t want to say too much to risk jinxing it as it’s already a slim chance of working out, so that’s been another reason it’s been a little quiet here! But this is something I’ve been working towards for years and I am hoping for the best! Fingers crossed for the best!

And lastly, my birthday is (unfortunately 😂) in one week! I added a donate button to this post in case you’d like to help celebrate by supporting the rescue! Donations are very low and going through quickly! Over 90% of finders don’t donate towards the animals they’ve brought in, and wildlife rehab care is quite costly! Every little bit goes a long way! Help me celebrate my birthday by making sure every animal can have what they need to grow and heal 💕

Hopefully everyone is doing well and is happy and healthy!

08/04/2026

It has begun! One of the baby cottontails has started to crack open their little eyes this morning 🥺 it’s exciting when a baby opens their eyes for the first time, but a bit sad because it means they’re growing so quickly!

08/03/2026

Very important!! Please keep cats indoors! So many animals that come in are a direct result of cats. Be a good pet owner and keep your kitties indoors with plenty of enrichment! It protects our wildlife and keeps your cat safe from disease and injury (and even death) too!

Cats don't just catch mice and rats. These are the faces of cat attacks. All of these animals were patients admitted to our Center after being caught by cats in just one week. Over the past decade, we've admitted more than 4,000 patients due to cat attacks, and only about 8% made it to release.

Wild animals caught by cats have a very low chance of survival, even with immediate veterinary care. Their injuries are often severe, and even small puncture wounds can become fatal because of the bacteria in a cat's mouth. Without treatment, the chances of survival are nearly zero.

We don't hate cats - we love them, and many of our staff members have cats at home! But we do hate the devastating impact free-roaming cats have on wildlife. Keeping cats indoors is the only way to prevent these injuries and keep wildlife safe, and it's safer for cats too! Indoor cats live longer and healthier lives compared to their free-roaming counterparts.

If you own an outdoor cat, please consider transitioning it indoors and encouraging others to do the same. We offer helpful resources on our website to support this transition. And for cats who struggle with life indoors, an outdoor “catio” can give them safe access to the outdoors without harming wildlife.

08/02/2026

What a difference just a few days makes! On Wednesday, three newborn baby cottontails came in following a dog attack on their nest. They still had their little umbilical stumps attached!

And the second photo is them here this morning before their feeding. In just 4 days, they’ve grown fur (they were totally naked when they got here) and are looking like real rabbits! As is normal in rehab, it’s taken them a bit to adjust to eating formula, but as of today, all three have started taking the syringe and eating the full amount so they should start getting plump very soon!

In the wild, it only takes about three weeks between birth to independence. Every day of development counts! Once they are at least the size of a tennis ball, they’re totally fine to be left alone. Please keep dogs and especially cats away from animal nests! Bunnies will be gone and off on their own so quickly!

07/24/2026

This sassy girl came in yesterday after being dropped off at a local vet office. We aren’t too sure what happened to her, but she sustained wounds and a subsequent infection on her tail that’s currently draining fluid. She was not a happy camper and showed her displeasure by apparently trying to give the vet some bites during her exam 😂

Right now, she’s on antibiotics and pain medicines to see if the tail starts improving. And hopefully soon enough, she will be back to the wild and away from us pesky humans!