Archive for May, 2010

Rocky the Raccoon?
From:  kayvon haghighi (humpbackk@hotmail.com) 
 You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe
Sent: Tue 11/11/08 7:09 PM
To:  melissapluto@hotmail.com
Cc:  janleahy123@comcast.net (janleahy123@comcast.net)

Dear Melissa,
I am writing to you per our conversation to give you the story of a baby raccoon I once knew.
 My wife and I live with our three children on four acres of woods in Wall township. We are both healthcare professionals with a great passion for conservation of the environment. We also pass along those values to our children and teach them to respect mother nature. Because of our circumstances we have frequent encounters with various forms of wildlife.
It was May  2005; the Wednesday  before Memorial Day Weekend. It had been raining for several days. My wife who is usually home on Wednesday mornings was tending to her gardens. She had come across a baby raccoon who had found shelter outside of our green house. He had wedged himself in corner behind some shrubs and underneath the gutter. Our first instincts were to leave the animal where we had found him and perhaps his mother would come looking for him. We put down some white baking flour on the ground to detect footprints. After two days and three nights, there were no signs of any maternal interaction. In fact the animal had endured the exposure to the elements without any food or water and it was amazing that it had survived. I decided to take him in and try provide him with food and shelter. I had a large plastic bin that I lined with old newspapers, and place it in the garage. I went and brought the little guy in and put him in isolation in the garage. By now the two older kids had already named him “Rocky”. It is important to note that at no point was there contact between any of us and this animal without personal protection ie gloves etc…great care was taken to minimize contact and also to disinfect or dispose of anything that came in contact with him.
Rocky could not have been more than a few weeks old. He was not taking in any food or water on his own. My youngest was 6 mos old at that time. I took one of his bottles and modified the nipple and started to gently feed Rocky baby formula. Rocky took very nicely to the nipple and was a ferocious eater. In fact he was thriving. He was alert and responsive and appeared to respond very positively to attention.
We had tried contacting several agencies to find a shelter that would take him. Because of the Holiday weekend we were not able to locate anyone locally. There were a lot of strange characters that we had encountered along the way. We were directed to the Mercer County Wildlife Center. My wife called and explained our situation. She made very clear to them that we wanted to have the animal rehabilitated and returned back to the wild. We were assured that Rocky would not be euthanized. In fact we were told we could have him released back into our own woods. Having lost our resident raccoon to exposure during the winter, we were excited about having Rocky back. My wife drove Rocky out on Monday afternoon approximately one and a half hour away. She was again reassured that the animal would not be euthanized and would in fact be rehabilitated and returned to the wild.
I called tuesday evening to ask how Rocky was doing. I was told by the telephone operator that he was doing well. I also requested to be kept informed of his progress and that we would like to have him returned to his original habitat. I was reassured again. I received a phone call from the Monmouth County Health Department on Wednesday morning informing me that the rabies test on the animal I had turned in was negative. I was shocked to learn that this beautiful animal that had survived against all odds was killed only for me to learn he did not have rabies. When I asked Ms. Nickerson, the Director of Mercer County Center, why they killed the raccoon and lied to me about it, she could not give me a logical reason or an answer.  My feeling was that I have a greater risk of contracting rabies just walking around in my backyard and getting bit by a rabid animal than I did from my interaction with Rocky. Four years have gone by and I still have a hard time explaining to my children why it was that Rocky died.   My wife and I were ready to give them a
large donation.
I have shared this story with a lot of my friends and patients alike. The consensus seems to be that the Mercer County facility has a reputation for being the judge, jury and executioner of wild animals. I am not sure what their motivation is, but I hope that what I am sharing in this e-mail will have an impact on establishing regulations that will guide these facilities, and create incentives for preserving our wildlife and prevent healthy animals from being killed. I also hope that Rocky’s death will somehow not be in vain.
I appreciate your efforts on behalf of our wildlife
Thanks,
Dr. Kayvon Haghighi

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3/13/05

Approximately one and half years ago, I applied to the NJ F&W for a scientific holding permit for two raccoons and two squirrels.  The permit was denied by Ms. Wells with no explanation.  I was upset, so I called Mr. Steve Toth to try to get an answer and an explanation.  Mr. Toth told me that he would be willing to consider giving me the scientific permit if I voluntarily turned in my rehabbers license for good.  I was on my lunch hour and had to cut the conversation short and never called back as I was flabbergasted at this bizarre offer.  This was precluded by the fact Ms. Wells attitude toward me changed when she stated upon her visit to my home that I had the potential for quite a facility with all the land I have.  At that point I stated to her that I had no intentions of becoming a facility and that I rehabbed for the love of the animals to do my part.  It was then that Ms. Wells attitude toward me changed to one of scorn.  From this point on my relationship with NJF&W has been a nightmare.  They dragged me into court. They made me out to be a liar and a buffoon.  This is my payback for 15 years of service.  I am shocked and appalled that government officials would testify under oath the lies that these people have told.

Theresa A. Mallia

tamallia@yahoo.com

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