Pumpkin and Oreo
THE BAHAMAS
ONE EXTREMELY WINDY DAY about four years
ago, my mother noticed that a very young raccoon
had fallen from its nest. She watched and waited, but
the raccoon mother never returned. My mom took
the baby to the vet, who told us it was a girl—and that
she had a broken leg.
We live in the Bahamas, and our Humane Society is
incredible but wasn’t able to care for an orphaned
baby raccoon—who, it turned out, needed to be bottle-
fed every two hours around the clock for her first
couple of months. This was an intense undertaking,
but my husband and I were willing to try; we wanted
to give this girl, who we named Pumpkin, a second
chance at life. The one thing making me nervous was
that we already had two rescue dogs, Toffee and
Oreo, both of whom we’d found on the side of the
road as puppies. I just hoped they’d all get along.
Raccoons usually stay with their mother for a year—
my intention was to rehabilitate her and then release
her back into the wild. But it soon became apparent
that it wasn’t going to work that way: She was too
entrenched in our family. The moment we brought
Pumpkin inside, Oreo’s motherly instinct kicked in;
she even tried to nurse her. The three of them would
play outside with a coconut, stealing it from one
another. I’d catch Pumpkin nuzzling Toffee’s nose,
both of them totally serene. When she was separated
from the dogs, she got so anxious.
Most dogs and raccoons would probably want to
eat or attack each other, but these little misfits are in
love. Their relationship is so uplifting and pure. These
days Pumpkin does spend more time outside—I guess
she heard the call of the wild. But she doesn’t like to
be away from everyone for too long. When she wants
to come inside, she knocks on the glass with her little
fist and stares up at me. And I always open the door.
—LAURA YOUNG
PHOTOGRAPH BY Laura Young
@OPRAHMAGAZINESEPTEMBER (^2019105)