Wildlife Rehab Group of South Carolina continues to grow

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Upstate’s own Tico the raccoon is in the running for America’s Favorite Pet.

His owner says if they win, they plan to donate the prize money to the Wildlife Rehab Group of South Carolina. It was formerly known as the Wildlife Rehab of Greenville- the same non-profit that rescued Tico.

“We take calls from the public for orphans and injured wildlife and we bring them in for care and if it’s a baby we raise it until it’s released and then if it’s an injured animal we get them the care that they need,” said Wendy Watson, the group’s president.

The Wildlife Rehab Group of South Carolina was created back in 1993. They cared for about 3,000 animals last year-- like Tiny the skunk.

Tiny came to the non-profit at just a day old.

“He was 18 grams and he was extremely small,” explained Angela Wood, a volunteer. “He literally lived in an incubator for four months because he could not maintain his body temperature.”

He stays with Wood permanently, unable to be released.

There’s also Mellow the owl, who Watson cares for after the bird was hit by a car in Florida.

“He is blind in one eye. He had a concussion, and he still is not like a wild owl, he is really calm,” Watson added.

Volunteers are trained on how to take care of wildlife including where they should stay, what they should eat how to groom them.

“I do have to trim his nails because they get really sharp, and their beaks overgrow,” Watson said. “You have to trim it and file it to make it smooth.”

Not a single person with the organization is paid-- everyone volunteering.

Angela, a nurse, became a member of the Wildlife Rehab Group of South Carolina after seeing her friends take care of squirrels.

“We have to do pre-exposure vaccines to be able to handle those animals as well as the raccoons, fox, animals of that source,” Wood mentioned.

While the non-profit is growing year-after-year, their mission remains the same.

“Depending on the injury of the animal and what kind of animal it is-- we can usually help,” Wood mentioned.

The Wildlife Rehab Group of South Carolina says they are always in need of more volunteers and donations.

To learn more about the group, click here.

To vote for Tico as America’s Favorite Pet, click here.

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