Blind raccoon lovingly holds rescuer hand when eating
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00:00 Larry's blind, he can't walk, and they were going to put him down.
00:03 I am Elizabeth, and this is Larry's story for GeoBeats.
00:06 Oh my goodness.
00:08 I am a licensed wildlife rehabber with the state of Florida.
00:11 I've rescued and rehabbed over a thousand animals.
00:14 I still hit.
00:14 Last year, I had 180 squirrels at one time.
00:17 Larry came into my life.
00:18 I got a call from a fellow rehabber.
00:20 He was at a vet's office and they were going to euthanize him.
00:23 Oh, you got mama's thumb?
00:25 He was found in a field by himself, probably abandoned by his mother
00:28 because there was something wrong with him.
00:30 I like the special needs ones.
00:32 They tug at my heartstrings.
00:33 So he was about four weeks when I got him.
00:35 Why are you laughing at me?
00:37 Because you've got something on your nose in there.
00:40 When I first brought Larry home, he was in critical stage.
00:42 It was 24 hour care on the hour, every hour, just making sure,
00:46 around the clock, through the night.
00:47 Are you smiling, little one?
00:49 How cute is he?
00:52 It was about a month before he even started showing signs of improvement.
00:55 [laughing]
00:57 There we go.
00:58 He had the will to live.
00:59 Look what I'm wearing!
01:01 Larry can never be released, being blind and him having cerebellar
01:05 hypoplasia where he can't walk.
01:07 Those feet are like velvet, velvet raccoon feet.
01:11 He doesn't show any discomfort.
01:12 His happiest moments are when he's eating.
01:14 He loves to eat.
01:15 [crunching]
01:17 I just love it.
01:18 [laughing]
01:19 He gets such joy out of eating.
01:21 If you guys just see it, I just see it in his face.
01:23 Pixie, that's like his sister.
01:25 They're bonded together.
01:26 She has cerebellar hypoplasia.
01:28 She's very wonky.
01:29 Who's hugging each other?
01:30 She's another one of my non-releasables.
01:32 Raccoons are very social.
01:34 They have to have somebody else.
01:36 Are you guys playing?
01:37 When you put them down side by side, they fall asleep easier
01:40 when they have each other.
01:41 Look at those little feet.
01:43 Oh.
01:44 He'll never be like an adult.
01:46 He'll always be like a child.
01:47 I have to provide his water to him every day.
01:49 I have to provide his food to him every day.
01:51 He's like, "I don't know about that, Mom."
01:53 Try and eat.
01:53 Take it.
01:55 See, he tries to eat it.
01:57 He's just over a year, so it's a long-term commitment.
02:00 Mama loves you.
02:01 It gets overwhelming sometimes because I literally
02:04 have not had a vacation in nine years with doing my rehab.
02:07 I can't just leave him with a pet sitter
02:09 because he's wildlife.
02:10 I just love how he sits.
02:11 You're my little cowboy man.
02:13 Overall, he's healthy, and his weight is perfect.
02:15 Everything else is great about him.
02:18 Oops.
02:18 I didn't want to wake him up.
02:19 We have this special bond.
02:21 When I say his name, he pops his head up out of the crib.
02:24 I see you, my little man.
02:26 If he hears me in the room, he listens for my voice
02:28 and will adjust himself to follow me.
02:30 Hi, Bo.
02:31 And if I leave the room, he calls for me.
02:33 I have a lot of disabilities.
02:35 Like, I've got health issues going on,
02:36 but he keeps me going.
02:38 Couple people hitched a ride.
02:40 He gets me out of bed every day where
02:41 I know I have to feed him between feedings and stuff.
02:44 Probably a total of six hours throughout the day.
02:46 How can nobody think you're just not the cutest?
02:48 Drips.
02:49 I see.
02:49 That was my mom feeding him.
02:50 Sorry, monkey.
02:51 I was in a corporate world for most of my life,
02:54 and I left that to do this.
02:55 And I work harder now than I ever did before.
02:57 I love you, springer.
02:59 But it's very rewarding.
03:00 It's my passion.
03:01 Feeding him is the highlight of my day
03:03 because he's so happy when he's eating.
03:05 I always say he's like a--
03:06 I was telling him, he's like, you're like a real raccoon,
03:09 you know, because he eats the food out of the bowl.
03:10 And he just sits there so proper while he's eating his food.
03:13 He's like my child.
03:14 I can't really call him a child because he is wildlife.
03:17 But if something happened to him,
03:18 it would be-- it would break my heart.
03:23 And I'd lose him.
03:24 Most precious blind raccoon.
03:27 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:31 (upbeat music)
03:33 [MUSIC]