Heart of The Wild Rescue

06/23/2026

This little boy is on day three of rehab and boy did we turn his life around .

06/23/2026

While we sleep the coyote pups are just waking up ❤️🐶 They are loving the big enclosure .

06/21/2026

Yesterday was quite an eventful day.
Bob and I headed out around noon to set a few traps, one of them for the Rotterdam foxes. There are two foxes in very rough shape, with one in particularly heartbreaking condition. As many people in the area have discovered, seeing these foxes is one thing—catching them is another.
After leaving Rotterdam, we headed to Thatcher State Park following a call from a Park Ranger regarding foxes that were acting unusual and appeared to be suffering from mange.
When we arrived around 4 PM, there was a fox right out on the lawn searching for bugs and grubs. He was in extremely poor condition from mange. As we approached, he slipped underneath a nearby shed. Looking under the shed, we could see at least two fox kits hiding there. The smell of mange was unmistakable—once you’ve smelled it, you never forget it.
We set two traps near the shed and waited for several hours, hoping the kits would venture out. They held their ground and refused to leave the safety of their hiding spot.
Around 8 PM, our good friend and transporter James called and asked if we needed help. After explaining the situation, he generously met us at the park with a long pole that allowed us to carefully encourage the kits toward the edge of the shed.
In the end, we were able to safely catch one little boy, whom we named Thatcher. Unfortunately, we could not get his sibling out, so we left the traps overnight in hopes of catching him or her soon.
By the time we finally got home, it was nearly midnight.
Thatcher immediately received a dose of Bravecto and a large bowl of venison before settling in for the night. He is in extremely rough shape, but he’s safe now, and that’s what matters.
Sadly, the park Ranger reported that there had been a large family of foxes in this area just over a month ago. Now, it appears these two kits may be the only survivors. We fear the rest of their family may have succumbed to mange.
Please send little Thatcher your well wishes as he begins his journey toward recovery. And keep your fingers crossed that we can catch his sibling soon. ❤️🦊

06/20/2026

A little over two short months away… 🦊❤️

In just a little over two short months, these fox kits will be back where they belong—wild and free.

Every day they are learning important skills that will help them succeed in the wild. From climbing and digging to chasing, pouncing, and navigating their environment, everything they do now helps prepare them for life on their own.

Of course, they’re still kids at heart. Watching them race around the enclosure, wrestle with one another, and turn every object into a toy is a reminder that growing up should be fun too.

Before we know it, these playful youngsters will be independent foxes exploring the forests and fields of the Adirondacks. Until then, we’ll continue giving them the space, enrichment, and opportunities they need to become the wild foxes they were meant to be.

06/15/2026

🩶 Why We Raise Coyote Pups Together 🩶

One of the most important parts of wildlife rehabilitation is making sure wild animals stay wild.

People often see young coyote pups and think of them as adorable little puppies. While they may look similar, their future depends on us remembering one very important difference: they are wild animals and must remain that way if they are ever going to survive in the wild.

From the time coyote pups arrive in care, every effort is made to raise them with other coyotes whenever possible. They learn important social skills from one another, including communication, boundaries, play behaviors, pack dynamics, and appropriate responses to their environment. These are lessons humans simply cannot teach.

Equally important is limiting human interaction. Unless medical treatment is necessary, coyote pups should not be handled. When feeding, I do my best to avoid being seen. The goal is to prevent them from associating humans with food, comfort, or safety.

Why is this so important?

A coyote that becomes comfortable around people may approach homes, campsites, pets, or even people looking for food. What may seem harmless or even cute as a youngster can become a death sentence later in life. Coyotes that lose their natural fear of humans are often labeled as nuisance animals and may ultimately be trapped, relocated, or killed.

Wildlife rehabilitation is not about creating tame animals. It is about giving them a second chance while preserving the instincts they need to survive.

So while it may be tempting to cuddle, play with, or treat them like puppies, the kindest thing we can do for these pups is allow them to remain wild. Every decision we make today affects whether they can successfully return to the wild tomorrow.

Keeping wildlife wild isn’t just a slogan—it’s the key to their survival. 🐾

06/14/2026

Happiness is when the human opens up access to the large enclosure .

06/12/2026

So True ❤️

HOW TO SAVE A LIFE DURING BABY SEASON.
This time, it’s the life of a rehabber.

I know this will mostly only reach our followers, and so we are preaching to the choir here, but maybe you can pass along an important list of "Don'ts" to those around you.

DON’T ASSUME that because you know that a rehabber loves animals that they can take more. We know that you desperately want to help the animal you have found. So do we. But if we took every animal in need, there would be carriers and crates stacked to the ceiling and no one able to care for them. There just aren’t enough of us.

DON’T GUILT US. People who become rehabbers are givers, caregivers, empaths, helpers. We are volunteers who have given up everything, our family, our free time, our sleep, our money, our sanity, to save these animals. The HARDEST thing about this work is learning to say no. It kills us all inside not to be able to help, to save. The idea of an animal needing us and we can’t take it haunts us. HAUNTS us. Long after you have forgotten about it. Trust me on this.

DON’T MAKE US FEEL WE AREN’T DOING ENOUGH. There is a reason the su***de rate in the animal profession is the highest of any. We are giving our all to breaking point. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH OF US, it’s not that we aren’t each enough. Some can take one litter, some can take 20. Each number is different, but trust that we are ALL maximizing. ALL OF US. It is not as easy as it looks on the internet.

DON’T THREATEN US. There are too many animals in need and not enough rehabbers to save them. Full stop. Telling us if we can’t take an animal it will be euthanized is not fair. It is abusive. Find another alternative or try to figure something out. It cannot all be on us. We are already doing more than almost anyone else to try to be a solution.

DON’T IGNORE THE TRUTH. Just because an animal in need has come to you and you are desperate to help it, doesn’t mean that there aren’t ten other people who feel exactly the same way who have already called us that day. Who have cried and pleaded. Who need us to be the hero. Your situation isn’t any more or less deserving than all of those other people’s who are trying to find help.

DON’T YELL AT US. One more time for those in the back. Rehabbers are all exhausted, feeling inadequate. Pushing ourselves. Judging ourselves. Trying to be superhuman because we love these animals. Volunteering all of our time and efforts at our own expense. Telling us we don’t care because we can’t help you is a gut punch some of us can’t survive. We will each hit a point where it’s too much and we want to give up. If you make us quit because you are the last straw, that is even fewer animals who will be saved and another tragedy.

DON’T ASSUME that you know everything about what another person is going through. We can never know. Some people only post the positive. Some don’t have time or energy to post. Some want to be brave. Just because people don’t show their struggles doesn’t mean they aren’t there, real, or privately completely overwhelming.

And perhaps the biggest of all:

DON’T DROP OFF ANIMALS IF WE HAVE SAID NO. Saying no to intakes is THE hardest thing for us. We are rehabbers. We can’t look at those faces and not do something either. Drop offs are a criminal level of disrespect. We are all recognizing our limits, sometimes too late. Forcing more on us can break us. If we have mustered the emotional strength to close for quarantine reasons and you unknowingly bring us babies who are sick, and we lose 50 more we have already brought through because you didn’t listen when we said no, you cannot possibly understand the devastation that brings.

Someone who ignores the limit and drops off six babies anyway and then goes home and goes swimming, or has a barbeque, or goes to sleep, or sees their family, or goes on vacation, or does any of the things that all of us give up because we want to help these babies DOES NOT GET TO CALL THEMSELVES A HERO. They did ten minutes of work and just gave a rehabber months of anguish. The only thing we can control is the feeling that we are deciding what we can take on. We make the choice. Taking that away is the most abusive thing you can do to a rehabber. It can ruin their marriage, their life, their health, or their desire to do this. This is not hyperbole. We are all drowning out here this time of year.

I am not whining or complaining or reprimanding. I don’t usually post with this tone, but, I am trying to shed light and give inside perspective on the reality of the field out here. Unless you have lived through a rehab season as a rehabber, with the relentless demands and phone calls, with the expectations others (and you) place on you, you simply cannot understand from words alone.

We are here, sweating in our gowns and gloves at all hours of the day and night, sitting alone holding a baby we fought with day after day, hoping, trying, fighting right with them, doing everything we could, but watching the life ebb away anyway. We are crying but we don’t have time to grieve. Our heads know we did all we could, but our hearts don’t, our doubts don’t, our anguish doesn’t. But we have to go on because there are more mouths to feed and more cages to clean more phone calls to pick up but we don’t have the right answers. There is the constant pressure of having lives in our hands. Every decision means a potential to make a mistake. We are all fragile right now, we are all exhausted, we are all maxed out. We are all incredulous and terrified that it’s only June. We need help and we need kindness and understanding.

And a note to the other rehabbers who are in the same boat: Please, let's try to hold each other up. Not attack each other, not resent each other. We are each where we are and we are all there for the same reasons: to save these lives. Can we love and support and respect each other? Can we trust that we are all giving all we can and doing all we can. And tell each other we understand, and that it’s enough. We see you, we honor you, we are grateful to you. Hang in there and let’s try to love each other so we can continue to love these precious animals.

06/09/2026

🐾 Meet Bonnie & Belle 🐾

My two new coyote pups each have quite a story, and both are alive today because of an incredible network of people willing to go the extra mile for wildlife.

Bonnie was transferred to me from Wendi at Whispering Woods Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation
Wendi believes a gentleman shot Bonnie’s parents and siblings, and when Bonnie arrived in care, she weighed just 2 pounds and was severely underweight.

Getting her here took a village. Two wonderful couples who frequently help with transports stepped up once again. Bob and Denise drove nearly three hours to pick up this little girl, and Pete and Lynn met them in Saratoga and drove her another 45 minutes north to my facility. Without transport volunteers like these, many animals would never make it to the care they need.

Belle’s story began when Gina from Hilltop Haven Animal Rescue reached out to Claire from Wild by Nurture
and Lori from For The Love Of Finn who began brainstorming where this little pup could go. Lori reached out to me, and I gladly said yes.

Belle had hind leg lameness, and before the transfer I requested that She be evaluated at The Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital at Cornell University. Claire made sure that She got there . What they discovered was heartbreaking. Belle was suffering from anemia, healed rib fractures, a healed tibial plateau fracture, and he was septic from an infection. After several weeks of antibiotics, veterinary care, and around-the-clock attention, She was finally strong enough to come home to the Adirondacks . A huge thank you to Karie for making the drive to and from Cornell to bring her to me.

These two pups are a perfect example of wildlife rehabilitation at its finest—dedicated people from across New York State working together, driving hundreds of miles, sharing resources, and putting the animals first.

Bonnie and Belle will remain here until their release this fall, into the beautiful Adirondack Park where they will hopefully live a long healthy life like they so deserve.

❤️ Thank you to Wendi, Bob, Denise, Pete, Lynn, Gina, Claire, Lori, Karie, the staff at Cornell, and everyone else who played a role in helping these pups. Your teamwork made all the difference.

06/09/2026

When Storm arrived at Heart of the Wild Wildlife Rescue just two weeks ago, he was one of the worst cases of mange I’ve seen in a young fox kit.
Many people think mange only causes hair loss and itching, but severe mange can be much more serious. The thick crusting and inflammation caused by the mites can damage the skin so badly that blood flow to extremities is reduced. When that happens, tissue can die from lack of circulation.
Last night, the end of Storm’s tail detached on its own. While it may look shocking, this was likely the result of tissue that had already lost its blood supply before he ever arrived here.
The good news is that Storm is feeling much better overall. Since receiving treatment, he’s eating, grooming, moving around more comfortably, and acting much more like the young fox kit he should be. His body is finally getting a chance to heal.
This is another reminder that mange is not just a cosmetic issue. Left untreated, it can lead to severe suffering, secondary infections, loss of body condition, and permanent damage to ears, feet, and tails.
Please keep sending healing thoughts for this tough little guy. He’s already overcome so much in his short life, and we’re hoping the worst is now behind him. 🦊❤️

06/05/2026

Today alone, I received two separate calls involving gray fox families where rodenticide poisoning is suspected.

In the first case, a parent fox was found dead beside a shed where her babies were living underneath. Live traps have been set in hopes of catching the kits, but if rodenticide contributed to the mother's death, there is a possibility the babies have been exposed as well. These Babies will be going to Victoria with Critter’s caretaker because she already has gray foxes in care .

The second call came from over an hour away. A pest control technician contacted me after checking bait boxes at a residence. He explained that the boxes are serviced every three months. When he arrived today, he found one baby gray fox dead and another barely alive, both lying next to a bait box. There were no parents in sight. These kits were tiny, weighing only about 300 grams, and may have even been small enough to enter the bait station.

With the help of our amazing transporter, James, who drove from Saratoga to Clifton Park, we were able to get the surviving kit picked up. I met him halfway and rushed the little one to the veterinarian, but despite everyone's efforts, this baby did not survive.

Please, please consider safer alternatives for rodent control whenever possible. Rodenticides don't just affect rodents. They can impact foxes, owls, hawks, coyotes, and countless other innocent wildlife species that become unintended victims.

This little fox deserved better.

We can do better.

Please share to help spread awareness about the devastating impact rodenticides can have on our wildlife.

Picture of another fox we were able to save sitting right on top of the poison station 🙏🏼