As I go about my busy life attempting to raise wildlife, I find myself referring back to the best teacher I ever had. This is my Reese. She is in my lap here. We did this almost every day for about 6 years. She was raised in a house with dogs. When she came to me, she was a year old and terrified to go out side. She lived inside with me for over a year. During that time, she became my best friend. She was my shadow and loved me unconditionally. She would just sit with me or if she wanted to play, she would run thru the house, throw open a cabinet door and jump in. I was then to go open the door so that she could jump out and off we would go again. If I came home after a hard day at work, she always knew. She would sit in my lap and chatter to me. Reese would let me know if she approved of any visitors in the house. If she liked them, she would greet them very properly. If not, she would blow at them and stomp off down the hall. She stayed until they left. If my husband ever raised his voice to me, Reese would stand between us and growl at him. If he did not stop, she would bite him. Reese sat on my lap while I was at my computer trying her hand at typing. As I would get babies in, she was my teacher. She would wash the kits, chatter at them and play with them. She did not care what species. She helped not only with raccoons, but with fox, groundhogs, squirrels, rabbits & opossums. When my mother passed, Reese stayed with me every second that I was home for about a month. She would touch my face and chirp at me as if to ask how I was doing. She was my comfort. As Reese became more comfortable outside, she would come knock on the door. Sometimes she wanted in, other times she wanted me to come out. We would dig bugs or play in the woods. We would play in the pool until she was tired. Then she would climb in my lap, and just visit. One morning she presented me with my first grandcoons. Reese announced to pretty much everyone that no other human was allowed in the back yard. If she saw my husband looking out the window, she became enraged. I named them Peanut and Buttercup. She did not leave them for 5 days. When she did leave, she would come and get me. I was to babysit until she returned. Only I was allowed to touch the babies. My husband snuck out one day to try to see. It took him 3 trips around the house with a VERY pissed off mamma on his heels, to get far enough ahead to get in the door. He said, "I didn't do anything!" I advised him that did not matter. Reese made it clear and he should have listened! Reese would sit like a bear and gather her babies in her arms, rock and croon to them as she nursed them. She was never far away. They were so fat, she could not carry them down off the cage when she was ready to move them at 9 weeks. She then started teaching them the ways of the woods. She would bring them to the feeding station at night. As they grew, she taught them what to look out for. People, dogs, hawks and other dangers. She would lay her ears back and blow. If the kits did not go up a tree, there was hell to pay after the danger passed! She would bite them and smack them. If they protested too much, she would do it longer. One day a dog came into the yard. I was closer than a tree. They were on my head in a second. She chased the dog off and looked me as if to say, OK, they can come down now. I learned that raccoons teach their babies all about their world. They stay with mom for a year. Raccoons will adopt an orphan kit. Reese adopted several. I learned that even a male raccoon will protect an orphan. After Reese was gone, Peanut, at age 3, took over the care of an orphan that Reese had taken in. He protected her, made sure she had enough to eat. They slept in a tree together. I learned that raccoons touch their babies and sing to them. They never ignore them. Most of all, they love them. I try to do what Reese taught me. The most wonderful lessons I ever learned were at the hands of my best teacher ever.