Gizmo, the once-naked raccoon

If you’ve been following Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary at all, you will know a little something about Gizmo. For the new readers (thanks for joining us!) I will explain why Gizmo the raccoon is so special.
Gizmo was found in the corner of a shed in Halliburton. Though her location and finding are not unusual, Gizmo was very special. She had almost no fur on her body. Sure, she had a tiny bit of fur on her feet and most of her face was covered but she was bald otherwise.
Remember when you were a kid and you had that one really cool rubber mask that was possibly your father’s or grandfather’s, passed down through generations. By the time you got hold of it, it was expressionless and had more creases than the grandfather that purchased it. Take that mask, loosely wrap it around a small child’s pillow and you will have the body structure of gizmo in her previous state.
The reason for her loss of hair is still unknown to this day.
Normally, it would be a parasite that would cause such damage, but no such parasite existed within the raccoon affectionately called Gizzy by those, including myself, who have come to love her.
I cannot take credit for her rehabilitation, since I was not here at the time of her arrival and I sadly missed much of her stay. I can, however, proudly say that several months after her arrival I had the privilege to help release her back into her home forest as a brave new furry raccoon.
She may be a mystery, but nothing was mysterious about the feeling of incredible content we received upon her happy release. She was home again and she knew it.
After looking back as if to say goodbye, and a little exploring, she climbed a tree where, after finding her perfect feasting position, went to work filling her slightly blubbery (…and furry!) rump with bugs from the newly chosen tree.
You should have seen our smiles.
(These weekly articles are contributed by staff at the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary rehabilitates orphaned and injured wildlife with a mandate to educate the public towards a better understanding of local fauna. This week’s column was contributed by Jon Marleau, a volunteer spending 28 days at Aspen this summer.)

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