September’s Patient of the Month is small, dark, and handsome. Meet 24-873, a melanistic Eastern Gray Squirrel currently in care at the Sanctuary.  This fascinating baby squirrel arrived at RWS in mid-August after his nest was cut down by some folks doing tree work in Augusta County. Our friends at the Wildlife Center of Virginia transferred […]

This month’s star critter is a bit different than the furry, scaly, and feathery species we’ve featured before. This particular critter is bipedal, speaks French, and greets everyone with a smile and her trademark: “Hey, buddy!” Meet our founder, Nathou Attinger. Nathou announced her retirement from RWS earlier this past spring, and we interviewed her as […]

We’re getting squirrelly at RWS this month as we feature one of Virginia’s most nimble and entertaining residents: the Eastern Gray Squirrel. 🐿* * There is sadly no gray squirrel emoji (yet!), so we’ll settle for a chipmunk for now. Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) are tree squirrels and a common sight in our forests […]

July’s Patient of the Month is a bit more punk rock than most of the species we treat, thanks to their crazy backstory and heavy metal look! 🤘👨‍🎤 Meet Chimney Swift 24-729. Being later season nesters, Chimney Swifts are often the last big wave of orphaned songbirds we get before the baby bird season begins to […]

We are so grateful to everyone who joined us at Paws Are The Cause with Ben Around Tattoos. With your help, we raised (drumroll please)…🥁🥁🥁 We are simply blown away! Did you catch our news coverage on NBC29? Check it out for scenes from the event! From June 29th to 30th, a team of generous […]

There’s one animal we always go particularly hog wild for at RWS! This month, we’re celebrating Virginia’s most spud-like species: the mighty helpful groundhog.

Every once in awhile, the Sanctuary admits a patient that gets our staff to say, “Wow, that’s the smallest I’ve ever seen!” Meet RWS Patients 24-295, 296, and 297: a trio of infant raccoon kits. They each weighed in at just about 55 grams upon admission, which is essentially birth weight for raccoons. In fact, they […]