After my first stint as a raccoon mom at Critter Care, I'd often speak fondly of my time there. I used my internship as part of a project for school, and enjoyed looking back at my photos and remembering the cute animals and good friends I made. This spring, one of the girls I interned with last time got hired on as a supervisor and put the pressure on for me to come out to work again. I thought about it for a while, then figured why not? I just finished my first year of classes in animal health technology and would someday like to use my training to go into wildlife or shelter medicine.

A few things had changed in the 2 years since I left, but a lot of things stayed the same. A lot of new faces, but always the same work! I quickly got back into the swing of things - cleaning, laundry, outdoor labor, open house prep and, of course, looking after the animals. This time there were 3 tiny raccoons waiting for me when I got there, and my group quickly grew to 6 within a week. In addition, we got in a tiny coyote pup a few days after my arrival and I was lucky enough to become his surrogate mom.

A few weeks later, a group of 3 little raccoons came in, severely dehydrated and emaciated. I helped the supervisors feed them that first night; they were just skin and bones when I picked them up, so desperate for milk that they aspirated every time they tried to drink and their third eyelids were prolapsed. We weren't sure they were even going to make it through the night, but I knew from the first time I held them that I had to try. Thus began feedings every 3 hours from 5 am to 11 pm. All the extra time and care paid off, as they quickly grew into healthy, active babies who were able to keep up with their six larger siblings.

Due to my past experience here, I was also promoted to Friday evening supervisor when one of the other supervisors went part-time. The additional responsibility was stressful, but also a lot of fun, since I was working with such a great group of people. I got to experience being in charge of not only my own babies, but also the injured adults and managing the medication of the other interns' babies. I was also able to step up to supervising a few other times when the main supervisors were unable to work.

I don't for one minute regret my decision to come back. Working with wildlife is my passion and I enjoyed getting to raise new babies and put the skills I learned in my classes to practical use. I've been offered a position here as well, and as soon as my life circumstances allow me to make the move, I'll be back in a heartbeat.