Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2727
September 23 - September 29, 2021
What to Do: Wildlife Seeing the occasional possum or backyard squirrel nest is just part of living in Florida. As the population in Pinellas surges, close contact with the local critters is unavoidable. Reef Dog Gifts and Grooming owner Karen DeSocio experienced that firsthand in July when she came across an 8-week-old, seemingly dead possum in the road. “I pulled up next to it, opened my door, looked down and it lifted its head and looked right at me,” DeSocio said. “I had a small jacket next to me that I used to pick up the tiny little [joey] and place it in my [pet carrier] that is always in my car in case things like this happen.” A call to local rescue SPCA Wildlife Intake put the animal in the hands of rehabilitators. After three weeks of formula feedings, she was released back into the wild. According to Birds in Helping Hands Director Shelley Vickery, this is one of the best outcomes for displaced or injured animals. Vickery, who is the “on the ground”
SARA ANDERSON
By Abby Baker
rescuer for many of the calls to her nonprofit, stands by the biggest rule for those who find themselves in the
presence of an injured animal: Do not try to rehabilitate the animal yourself. Wildlife continued on page 20
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