Raccoon Gangs, Pigeons Gone Bad, and Other Animal Adventures: A Wildlife Rehabber's Tale of Birds and Beasts

by Trish Ann Konieczny

“What are you going to do with all these babies now?”

Trish Ann Konieczny didn’t always dream of being a wildlife rehabilitator, but that changed as soon as four orphaned raccoons fell out of a tree, into her yard and into her heart. Since the Raccoon Gang first dropped in, her life has been energized by a passion to share God’s love for all creatures by rescuing birds and beasts alike.

Now Trish shares her most unique encounters with her needy new friends and how they’ve each provided a window into the animal kingdom God has created for us to care for and enjoy. You’ll find enchanting stories from her time at Lion’s Den Rehab, like those of… Filled with heartwarming antics and up close looks at life in animal rescue, this book will delight every lover of furry and feathered babies—and reveal incredible insights into our relationship with God’s magnificent creation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Memoir, Wildlife, Inspirational

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2022

About the author

A resident of Northern Michigan and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Trish Ann Konieczny revels in the wild world of the woods and its woodland creatures. Her stories of raising and releasing small mammal orphans are lively and unique. When she's not spending time with animals both wild and domestic or writing tales about them, she can be found editing other people's manuscripts for a national Christian publisher. Besides attending to the animals in her care, she has a husband of 40 years, their 3 kids, and more than half a dozen grandkids.

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been an active wildlife rehab volunteer for a decade. It is an important part of my existence and, for my closest friends, it has come to define who I am and what I stand for. For that reason I was excited to see that a knowledgeable, experienced rehabber had written a book about her experiences. Unfortunately, Trish Ann Konieczny’s sincere and heartfelt offering is a little shortsighted and disappointing.

First, let’s talk about the good. All of us involved in wildlife rehab have, for lack of a better term, our “spirit animal.” It is that specific whatever-species of being that falls (sometimes quite literally) into our lives and somehow changes the course of our existence. For Trish it was a raccoon (or rather, four raccoons!), for me it was a Mississippi kite. For both of us, our paths were forever altered by baby animals who plopped rather unceremoniously out of a tree and into our hearts.

Konieczny is a natural born story teller. Whether it’s raccoons or pigeons or rabbits or squirrels, she relates her experiences with a flair and sense of humor that both captivates and inspires. Like all of us who become involved with these creatures, she made a few rookie mistakes when she started out—that’s completely understandable. We live and we learn. I can tell you first hand that this is harder than it looks. No human is born with the algorithm of nurturing nature’s vast menagerie, we come by it through trial and error, education and exasperation, determination and compromise.

There is good advice here. I lost count of how many times I found myself nodding in agreement and saying (never out loud) “you go girl!” I wish everyone could hear and thus benefit from the wisdom of Trish’s years of experience. Herein lies the problem. This book is formatted, intentionally or unintentionally, for a very specific, very Christian demographic.

Unlike the author, I don’t rehab animals at my home. My work is done at the largest wildlife care facility in Oklahoma. We treat thousands of animals every year, that’s no exaggeration. Consequently, I have worked alongside staff members and fellows and interns from all parts of the country, including the author’s home state of Michigan. It changes considerably from year to year, but we are consistently a diverse and eclectic bunch.

Caring for animals is a uniquely secular task. If I’m at a table syringe feeding baskets of hungry squirrels with seven or eight other volunteers and staff members you can bet your ass that not all of them are Christians. Over the years I have come to know and love Methodists and agnostics and Jews and Buddhists and Catholics and Muslims and atheists and (gulp!) even a few Baptists. In fact, most of the time I have no idea what denomination the person working next to me is—and I honestly don’t care! We are a family of companionate and dedicated human beings.

I understand that Konieczny is proud of her faith—and that’s okay. I also understand that by injecting biblical verse into every chapter she is speaking only to those who believe in what she believes and frankly that’s a little sad. But, then again, maybe that’s where the emphasis needs to be? A more encompassing theology would be (pardon the pun) a godsend!

For example: There is a disheartening photo floating around the internet showing two smiling men with rifles posing with over forty dead coyotes. If you look closely, one of those men is wearing a cross around his neck. Being “Christian” does not necessarily equate to being compassionate.

Over the years I’ve been put down (many times) and ridiculed (occasionally) by “upstanding” Christians for the work I do. One of my favorite stories to recount is of the woman who chastised me for stopping to move a turtle off a busy roadway. She told me God himself put that turtle there and by moving it out of harm’s way I was “interfering with the Lord’s work.” Hmmm…

So yeah, maybe preaching to the proverbial choir can do some good. I just think our wildlife endeavors would have been better served by reaching out to and acknowledging those among us (myself included) with different dogmas and ideologies. ‘Nuff said.
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See also:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[jv poore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the animal escapades in this book. And raccoons really are rascals.

Such a cute, quick easy read that I'll be introducing this to "my" students today and adding it to my favorite classroom library.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

When a pastor's wife finds four raccoon kits in her backyard in rural Michigan, she becomes a wildlife rehabber. The raccoons are a real challenge, first to get them to eat, but as they grow up they become very active. Then she has to get them to leave home. She loves it despite the challenges, and starts rescuing other forms of wildlife, including squirrels and birds.

Entertaining and informative.

[Mickey Agee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trish is a wonderful story teller in this book. She writes from personal experiences of animal rehabbing in Northern Michigan in such a captivating way. Also, she includes scriptures and references to her personal relationship to our Creator.

My favorite quote of the book comes from chapter 5: Just the Beginning

“I think I am actually the one being rehabilitated as He takes me on this adventure of getting to know so many of His furred and feather ones. They often make me laugh, and sometimes make me cry, and always show me something new about the intricacy of God’s creation”

[Daniel J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book of humorous, Faith filled real life stories about rehabbing wild animals. I loved this book because Trish’s homey, humorous, informative, and Faith filled storytelling had me hooked from beginning to end. Although I could have rushed through it in a day, I chose to savor its delightful chapters one by one. Each provided a positive, uplifting experience over several days that just made me smile and feel happy. It is obvious throughout that her many years of editing Faith filled books by others has molded a unique and enjoyable writing style with queues of questions, information and insights, laced with wonderful wordplay. This book will be a joy to read for everyone who loves animals, adults and children alike!

[David Darden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a light, enjoyable read. I enjoyed the stories and learned a bit too.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure how this book came to my “to read” list initially but when I saw that Hoopla had it available I decided to give it a go. What an unexpectedly engaging memoir! It’s told by a Michigan wildlife rehabber, beginning with the story of 4 raccoons that got her into the calling in the first place. From there she takes you through a number of other stories throughout her rehabbing time up to that point (about 5 years) and the lessons learned in each. She’s also a Christian and relates the wonder of God’s creation within each chapter. I came away with a greater appreciation for the complexities of all creatures great and small, and some fun facts (like pouch pickers and the illegality of collecting most bird feathers found in nature). I only wish there were even more stories to read! I am planning on visiting trishann.com to be able to see some of the videos she mentions next. 4 stars

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The parts about wildlife rehabilitation were good, but I found the abundance of Biblical scripture and preaching to be very off-putting. We're not talking about just a line or two here and there; there are multiple occasions where there are pages and pages of nothing but Christian evangelising. I understand that religion is important to the author and her motivations but I think that should have been conveyed once rather than something that is repeatedly revisited

[Lawrence Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this collection of well written stories. Trish is obviously a kind, dedicated and capable wildlife rehabber. It's interesting to learn how she became involved in wildlife rehabbing and this book is full of so many interesting stories, funny, informative, just a good read. That Pigeon George - what a scoundrel. Enjoy!

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trish Ann Konieczny’s story telling is lighthearted and entertaining. Her charming first hand reflections of wildlife rehabilitation provide an insightful look at the ups and downs of saving an animal. This book leans a little too hard into biblical allegories for my taste, but overall this short book was worth the read.

[Micayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! Thank you to the publishing house for the ARC copy won through a giveaway. I loved how it was centered in Michigan and on wildlife rehab, which I've always wanted to try. A good quick read!

[Kayla Tornello · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the behind-the-scenes information about wildlife rehabilitation. The author is honest about the hardships and talks about both the wins and the losses. There is a lot of religious references throughout the book and a list of Bible verses at the end.

[Susan Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable and interesting, aside from the religious references and content which was easy to skip over

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, quick read. The author is very obvious about her love for animals. She writes about a few of her favorite 'saves' and tells of the heartbreak of losing the unsavable.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

You learn in this book what it takes to take care of orphan animal.
I won this book on Goodreads.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute stories of wildlife rehab.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun fast read. Entertaining.