About Izzie's Pond

Many of you already know our origin story, but considering all the big changes we’re making in 2021, and in the explanation of those changes, I feel like I need to start at the beginning:

We are no stranger to change.  In fact, it seems that all we’ve done is change, redirect, absorb, evolve.  That is one thing that I’m particularly proud of, being able to roll with the punches and adjust accordingly.  If anyone ever asks me how we got into rescue, it always makes me laugh because it was purely unintentional.  It just happened.  Really, it did.  I know so many people who start out with a dream and a vision and a first year plan, a 5 year plan and a large encompassing mission.  I wish we had started that way!  More organized and more focused would surely have made our lives easier, right?

For us, it all started back in 2009 when one of our pet ducks was attacked by a Great Horned Owl due to the fact that we knew zilch about predator proofing and proper waterfowl care.  That is something I am vastly ashamed of now so we love to give advice on predator proofing enclosures and nutritional requirements.  Believe me, if I can learn it and do it, anybody can.

This mistake started us on a random series of mishaps, whoopsies and incredible accomplishments, that through the amazing people we’ve met along the way is now an organization.  Around that time, Izzie was going through the “Mine” stage and everything was Izzie’s.  Especially the pond.  The name Izzie’s Pond had actually started almost as an inside family joke and the name just stuck.  When we filled out the state and federal organizational paperwork, it just made sense. 

In the midst of all this, a dear friend passed away.  In Wayne’s passing, I inadvertently wound up with this raccoon, because he was the raccoon rehabber, not me.  Wayne did two things that I will forever be grateful for.  First, he opened my eyes to the plight of wildlife, such as raccoons, foxes, skunks, and humans affect on their habitat and survival.  The second thing he did was introduce me to Dr Tope, our veterinarian, who we could not exist without. 

My friend Carole brought Maggy and her sister May in the middle of the night, back in early spring 2014.  We stayed up all night warming, rehydrating and cleaning the babies, brushing out fly eggs and picking maggots.  We didn’t know if they would make it through the night.  The next day, I stood in one of Dr Tope’s exam rooms with Maggy and her sister, May, who had just passed away on the way to their appointment.  We had to name them because we spent so many hours trying to clean them up and save them.  I was crying, like ugly crying, you know, the kind that makes men really uncomfortable, and said I just didn’t know what to do.  Dr Tope said to me, that if I wanted to rehab raccoons, that he would help me.  (By being my vet, as this was only the 2nd time I had seen him)

Standing in that room with Dr Tope, Maggy and her little deceased sister, was a defining moment in my life and a pivotal moment for Izzie’s Pond.  I just didn’t realize it at the time.  I’ve often wondered if Dr Tope remembered the conversation, or thought I was crazy.  Which now, 7 years later, he can be sure instead of just thinking it.

We put the two names together, and called her Maggy May from that point on.  Have you ever had one of those animals in your life, that just plain changed everything?  The little girl literally redirected the course of our lives.  She was a catalyst to change everything about ourselves.  She molded the entire direction of the rescue, because she gave it a direction that hadn’t been there before.  It’s funny to realize that such a tiny little being could alter your entire outlook on life.  In raising Izzie, we wanted her to have respect for wildlife and love for all animals and their place in nature. 

When we started, we heard all the words, predator, nuisance animal, trash panda.  We had such a soft spot for these animals that were getting pushed out of their habitat.  Just because they are so stinking smart that they learn to adjust and thrive around humans, they’re then considered a nuisance!  It floored me that people would leave out food, baiting wildlife to come, and be mad and want to kill one species of animal for eating it over another animal that it was left for. 

Maggy May taught us so many things.  Her critical thinking skills were impressive and she was a master at getting into things that she shouldn’t.  It’s a running joke that we’re constantly being outsmarted by raccoons, but I feel like we’re all just learning together.  It’s not our fault that raccoons are just genetically inclined to be mischievous.

So just by chance, we started giving people advice on how to co-exist.  Since that time, we have humanely excluded mothers and babies from attics, outbuildings and various structures.  We have reunited babies with mommas that somehow got separated.  We have even had the opportunity to talk to people about how to deal with human and wildlife conflict, and in the process, have saved many lives and hopefully others have gained some perspective on our wild neighbors as well.  It’s been an amazing journey, and being able to share a little bit of how we learned the hard way, has been a blessing that we’ve truly enjoyed.