WildRescue, Inc./Rabbit Rescue

10/11/2026

Good Sunday morning! It’s been awhile since I posted photos/videos of the happenings here at the Rescue. When you get as many calls as I do, it really is difficult to keep up with social media platforms and ooooo and aaaaaa your followers with the cuteness and the stories!!

Takeaway from this last few weeks:

THROW GLUE TRAPS AWAY.
I won’t show you the photo of the hummingbird I removed from a sticky trap. It would break your heart. There are other solutions- even the CDC says they are bad (public health risk) stay tuned for me going before our city council and asking for a resolution….

KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS FOR HEAVENS SAKE ALREADY

Cats do not belong in the environment. They are invasive and fatal to everything out there. Their lives are also much shorter than those kept indoors. Put up a cat fence (effective and quite inexpensive). Build a catio. And stop telling me that cats are only “doing their job”. No- that job belongs to opossums, raccoons, fox, coyote, bobcats and our wonderful owls.

TEACH YOUR DOG TO LEAVE IT OMG.
Also done with people shrugging their shoulders as they bring me yet another broken baby thing that their dog gifted them with. With and without the head, legs, etc. Guys. I know not all dogs can be trained. I get that. But if you don’t secure your fenceline (big post I have on how to do that), and if you aren’t willing to bring the cottontail babies inside/put them back for mom to feed/bring them back inside, then what are we doing?? The whole point is the rabbit can get into your yard. Once we take her babies away from her it triggers her to go and have another litter - right back where she had the first one! Stop that from happening and your dog can’t cause as much harm. Work with me people!!!!

Right now we have close to 100 squirrels varying in age at our Rescue and satellites. Some will be overwintered as they will not be old enough to survive out there with what we feel is a harsh winter coming. We soft release so backup food is provided.

We have a good handful of opossums and a few late skunks also. They will also be released appropriately when they are ready and the weather permits. Birds are finally really slowing down. I’m seeing species that are migrating and hitting the windows at UNT and the Dallas Stars Center 😢 hummingbirds also. Go to American Bird Conservancy for excellent info on what you can put on your windows to help birds deflect.

I have never seen a year like this. It’s been beyond exhausting and the sheer volume of numbers just astonishing. I am forever grateful to everyone who brings me wildlife in needs and calls me for the strange and unique situations. My classes will be starting up again very soon, so if you want to join this wild army of ours, just text me at 940-442-8289! And in the meantime, the sun is painting the sky a Maxfield Parish palette of colors, and it’s time to clean and refill my hummingbird feeders! Have a lovely Sunday and remember - fall migration is at its peak right now so take time and go outside!!!!! Wonders await ♥️🪶

♥️A special shoutout to my friend and former councilmember Keely Briggs for stopping to rescue this starving pigeon (doing very well now!)♥️

10/10/2026

It’s today!! Global Bird Day!! Download your Merlin App and get to listening! Then submit who/what you hear and help build the stats for birds all around the world. It’s a PERFECT day to go out to our very own Clear Creek! This is the peak of fall migration. I am already seeing chickadees and nuthatches at my feeders! I still have one hummingbird at my feeder - will be quite bittersweet when she finally leaves (females and juveniles will continue migrating thru November!). This morning I have heard the bird of the day, our state bird, the northern mockingbird and that rascally blue jay. Let’s see what other joys the canopies of our trees and bushes, flat plains and prairies show us today!!

Mark your calendars for October Big Day—10 Oct 2026! Together, we can make this the first October Big Day with more than a million people united to celebrate birds.

09/30/2026

Good morning Wildlife friends!
It looks like we are going to have a blustery day today followed with a few days of possible severe weather! And you know what that means?! Yep, time to get ready to save some lives!

Fall mammal babies are still coming in and that includes cottontails, opossums and squirrels. Squirrels will be falling from their trees. Opossums that will be too young to be away from their mom will be wandering your backyard. Cottontails will drown in their nest so please walk your backyard today and look for any ground nests!

We are right in the middle of fall migration. Thousands of songbirds will be flying high above us for the next few weeks. These storms can push them off course and disorient them. Hummingbirds in particular are in specific danger with these storms. Make sure you look on the ground especially near windows!

Egglet and nestling birds (mainly doves at this time of year) will be falling to the ground, sometimes with the entire nest. Please remember it is an old wive’s tale (probably concocted by your grandmother to keep you from messing with baby birds) that the mom will not come back if you have touched the birds. Birds have very little sense of smell! They are driven to feed their babies just like any other animal is. It is perfectly fine for you to pick up the babies but of course I always recommend surgical gloves or gardening gloves.

So you know what to do, right?

1. Get a non auto shutoff heating pad and put it in a room or bathroom that you are not using. I do not recommend a garage simply because of possible rodents/spiders, etc.
2. Get a medium sized cardboard box or shoebox lined with a clean towel or a T-shirt/undershirts.
3. Put the box half on and half off the heating pad and you are ready to just plug the heating pad in which you will set on low for the emergency.

Hypothermia kills. Heat is vital. Please remember that. You have to warm up the little thing slowly and make sure it’s not too warm which is why you’re going to set the heating pad on low.

This is the way!

I am always happy to help find you a permitted rehabilitator no matter where you are. Text me at 940-442-8289 with any questions or concerns. I will get back you as soon as I can.

Now let’s go save some lives!

09/27/2026

Good Sunday morning-

As I sit and watch the hummingbirds at the feeders, the squirrels foraging for breakfast and a sundry of other birds I think about the sadness in this world right now and how many cannot lift their heads to even think about the wonder around them.

I see my Turk’s cap still blooming and feeding the hummingbirds. I see the bindweed that people tend to pull up now blooming and also feeding the butterflies and hummingbirds. My wisteria does the same. The native sunflowers are food for chickadees. The woodpecker I released two years ago, now with a full red head, recognizes me when I walk outside and calls and still comes for food at the feeders. A squirrel has a nest up in both trees (oak and pecan) in the front yard. My neighborhood fox visited the backyard a few night ago. Earlier this week a very handsome young coyote visited several yards on my street in search of food (their pups are just about to launch on their own and mom and dad are still feeding them). A murder of crows lives in our neighborhood now and were parading up and down the street sifting thru leaves looking for acorns and snacks. Lots of co-existence here.

In my world of wildlife rehabilitation, it is indeed comfort that we give. Our motto is “do no harm”. I am reminded of a print that hangs in the bunny room here - “sometimes we give and receive comfort at the same time”. This Sunday morning, with the light soft and the heat dialed down (thank GOD), let that sentence sit on your heart. Let thankfulness and gratitude guide you today.

Photo is of a young deeply frightened squirrel (recent intake) that would simply not let go of the little tree branch it was found on (on the ground). Yes of course that branch is still in there with him!! Blessings to all of you that stop and show kindness and care. And bless the hands of the Rehabbers who continue that care.

Remember - you are welcome to text me at 940-442-8289 if you have questions or concerns about wildlife. I will always guide you appropriately. ♥️🐿️🐢🪶🐦‍⬛🦫

09/13/2026

Fire ants

You all know that nasty hot sting of a fire ant bite. Fire ants swarm in warm humid weather. You all know the familiar mounds that pop up in your lawns. In this heat, fire ants go deeper into the ground, and they will search out food and moisture very aggressively at night.

When they bite, they release a toxin known as solenopsin. This toxin causes severe burning pain, cell damage, and system shock. Immediate management is required in humans. Can you only imagine what happens to domestic animals and our wildlife? Fire ants will invade all orifices, including the eyes. When they bite, they hang on. When you brush the ants off and the bodies come off often the heads stay attached, and the heads are still injecting that venom! That’s why it is imperative that you remove the heads as quickly as possible so that the animal does not die from systemic shock.

Weak and newborn animals are especially vulnerable. In our Wildlife, all of these babies that have been hitting the ground, including fledgling birds, tree squirrels and mammals that nest on the ground, in particular Cottontails, have been especially impacted this year.

When you see fire ants swarming a nest of Cottontails, immediately remove them and, wearing gloves, brush off the ants as quickly as possible. Using a pair of tweezers and a good light to see by, remove any heads that you see. Put the animal in a shoebox lined with a T-shirt and put the box half on and half off a heating pad set on low and text your trusted Wildlife rehabilitator! That person should know the protocol on what to do when fire ant victims come in.

I recommend sprinkling Amdro granules around the lip of a cottontail nest and you can sprinkle a few granules in the nest itself. The ants will take the bait back to the Queen and the colony will die. In many cases, we can renest the cottontails as long as they have not sustained too many bites. You are always welcome to text me at 940-442-8289 and I can walk you through the process.

Right now, the ants will come up above ground at night but once we get rain, it is going to be horrific! Please watch your yard carefully and be prepared to treat the mounds with an appropriate ant killer.

The photos below are just a small sampling of what has come in this last month. Everyone is now fine!

09/06/2026

***UPDATE!!***
Oh my gosh, I cannot thank you all enough! I think we have enough supplies to certainly get us through this fall season! The only thing that nobody has sent yet are the rodent blocks. If anybody would like to step up with that one that would be wonderful, but my gosh your generosity was and still is and always is overwhelming! Thank you so much for helping!♥️🐿️***

Good morning!!
Fall baby season is in full swing and the Rescue could use some items!! From skunks to opossums, squirrels, birds and bunnies, the 2026 season has been crushing!! My team and I have taken in and released well over a thousand wild things. I have fielded over 3,000 calls - and it’s only the beginning of September!!

Please look through our wish list and if you could send us whatever you can send us we would be so deeply grateful! We have almost 100 Squirrels in Rehab right now so the list is predominantly geared towards those kids! Remember, we can always use stuff so when you think of us look at our wish list and go shopping! Thank you in advance for whatever you would like to send! We absolutely cannot do this without you! 

Here is our Amazon wish list!

09/04/2026

It’s so early on this Friday morning - people are just waking up and really looking forward to their three day weekend. Some of us are up preparing formulas and, in this case, hummingbird nectars. I use a jeweler’s scale to weigh the powders that come all the way from Germany. I then use a full gram scale to weigh the proper ml’s of water to add to the powders. It’s a ritual I do several times a day to ensure the hummers in rehab get exactly what they need to heal, grow and get ready for release.

Thousands of hummingbirds are on their way south right now - this very day. Labor Day weekend for us here in north Texas will see a huge surge of hummers flying south. Prepare, clean and fill your feeders daily if you possibly can. Ants are terrible this year - I sprinkle Amdro at the base of my feeders which help tremendously in keeping the ants out of the nectar.

But most importantly, especially right now, if you see a hummingbird on the ground act fast. Get a small box and pad with Kleenex or paper toweling. Place a small twig inside for the hummingbird to perch on. Gently, ever so gently, pick up the hummingbird and place in the box, close the flap and bring it inside into a bathroom and close the door. Text me at 940-442-8289 right away.

These tiny titans cannot go very long without food so please follow the directions in the shared post below.

Hummers can and will aspirate. There is no coming back from that kind of pneumonia so please - before you do anything- ask me first.
Thank you for sharing Balcony Hummingbirds and please feel free to add anything else!

One more thing – please do not use those Hummingbird window feeders! I have had two hummingbirds come in that I could not save because of Wing and sternal injuries. When they hit your window, it’s like you hitting the windshield of your car. 😔

You can follow and log your hummingbird migration at Journey North!

When rescuing hummingbirds (they are the only bird that needs fed during the rescue process. ) However. Do Not put an open dish of nectar in the box with the bird. Sugar water on feathers ruins them. Instead feed your hummingbird with a Qtip soaked in nectar, making sugar non time down his beak. This bird will most likely need euthanized because of feather loss from sugar water.

09/01/2026

Today, September 1, 2026, was another 100 degree day here in north Texas. Today I was honored to speak in front of this year’s Elm Fork Master Naturalist students talking about all things wildlife, why these students are so vital (especially right now), why our wildlife need us now more than ever, and, as always, my foundational message was compassion and mercy.

Then on to my law office where an elderly couple waited for me with their daughter to sign their estate planning documents ensuring that not only their wishes were going to be carried out appropriately, but they could now feel safe in knowing that everything was now tied up with a neat little bow, and there was nothing to worry about going forward.

When I go to my law office in Lewisville, I always let my surrounding animal services know that I’m going to be there so that if Wildlife needs to come to me, they are welcome to do so and that includes citizens also. I do my best to make it convenient for people because finding an injured little baby thing carries its own kind of stress.

In a world that’s on fire right now we need Kindness and Grace. Today a beautiful young mother along with her two darling little daughters found a little baby Cottontail that had been injured by something - what we do not know.  That little family took it upon themselves to create a little habitat for this little injured Bunny and keep it safe and secure until I could get to the office. They named the little one Baxter.  They created a little hospital bed for him, wrote messages of healing and even taped a flower to the side of the box. It is not common for a family to be invested in the welfare of whatever it is they bring a Wildlife rehabilitator. And all of a sudden you get a family who does. A family who totally gets it and understands that teaching your children compassion, mercy and love are the most important things they could possibly do. For if we do not have these graces, then what do we have? 

Thank you to everyone today who showed compassion and mercy and especially this wonderful family who did everything they could for this little Bunny. We will know in a day or two if Baxter will survive as his injury is not a good one. But he was taken in and given safety and warmth and kindness and love and compassion. And isn’t that what we should always do? 

08/26/2026

Good morning! It is fall migration and I will be posting the progress of our avians as they journey south to overwinter. Birdcast was created by my friends at Cornell Labs and is the go-to for all things avian. Now - some hints to help our incredible birds reach their southern homes:

Go to your local nurseries and purchase already blooming plants for hummingbirds and butterflies. Place in pots in your yard and keep watered. Native to your planting zone is always best! Remember hummingbirds are most attracted to blooms that are red in color and trumpet shaped.

Petition your local city council to have a “lights out” for city campuses from 10pm to 6 am which is when the majority of birds are migrating - at night!

Also petition your colleges, universities and high-rise businesses to do the same. I know lights need to be on for security purposes, but the parking garages are a huge thing along with the sheets of plate glass on the UNT student union building. Window strike kills thousands of our songbirds every year 😔

Outdoor lighting? Switch out with Dark Sky compliant lighting!

Keep your bird feeders full and do so in the evening (at dusk) so that you don’t have to worry about it pre-dawn.

Keep your hummingbird feeders clean and refilled at night also that way the migrating tiny titans have a clean source of energy first thing!

Keep those birdbaths clean and filled along with your ground level containers!

Become a volunteer. Clear Creek. LLELA. Hagermann Wildlife Refuge.

Become a Master Naturalist. (I am honored to be speaking again for the Elm Fork Chapter next Tuesday!)

BE THE DIFFERENCE THIS WORLD NEEDS.

Bird populations are diminishing. Bat populations are diminishing. Habitat destruction is incredibly high. Data centers are destroying the environment. The very least we can do is help and support our wildlife!

Explore nightly migration data in your region