AUBURN – In the back room at Pet Quarters, Kiara climbed the bars of her cage, chirping and snorting until Jen Lewis turned around.
The 10-week-old raccoon already had blankets in her dog crate. She had food, and water and a toy ball with a bell.
What she wanted was attention. And maybe a back scratch.
“She gets most of her playtime at my house,” said Lewis, opening the cage door.
Kiara immediately climbed onto Lewis’ head and licked her cheek.
At home, the licensed wildlife rehabilitator cares for injured and orphaned animals. At work, she sells dog food and hamster cages. Her neediest animals always tag along.
It takes her a half hour to pack them all into the car for her short commute. But she can’t leave them at home. Full shifts are too long when you need to feed a baby skunk every two hours.
“I don’t take smoking breaks,” Lewis said. “I take feeding breaks.”
On one recent morning, while customers browsed among dog leashes at the store’s front, a 9-week-old groundhog dozed in a carrier at the back. Baby skunks huddled together in sleepy piles.
Lewis keeps the very neediest at the front of the store with her. This group was well enough to stay alone, but definitely contained. The baby skunks spray when startled.
“And there’s one of them that’s trigger-happy,” she said.
Lewis began working with animals as a zookeeper in Idaho. She became a licensed wildlife rehabber in Maine after finding an injured squirrel.
At one point, Lewis cared for more than 20 animals in rehab, along with her own dogs, rats, lizards and other pets. Most of the time, her wild animals are small, from bats to raccoons. Once, she cared for a deer.
Lewis figures she spends about $150 a week in vet bills, formula and feed. She operates solely on donations.
When bills started outpacing income last year, she got a job at Pet Quarters.
“Because you’re expensive. Yes, you are,” Lewis cooed to Kiara as she cradled her and scratched her back.
Once they’re healthy and old enough, Lewis releases the animals into the wild. Most of the time, they’re placed on property offered by volunteers.
After weeks – or months – of nightly feedings, emergency vet runs and trips to work, it can be heartbreaking to say goodbye. But Lewis always does.
“It’s not an easy life,” she said. “But it’s worth it when you see them trot off into the wild.”
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