You might not guess it from the casual poses and luxurious settings of these pictures, but Pumpkin the raccoon had a rough start in life.
When Rosie Kemp found Pumpkin beneath a tree in her backyard last year, the starving newborn had a broken rear leg and her mother was nowhere in sight.
Because Kemp lives in the Bahamas (yes, there are raccoons in the Bahamas), where there are no laws against keeping raccoons as pets, Kemp and her daughter, Laura Young, decided to take the little kit in. They cared for her around the clock, bottle feeding her and keeping her cozy while she returned to health. Before long, Pumpkin was ready to move in with Young, her husband, and their two rescue dogs.
“She now thinks she is a dog,” Young told The Dodo. “She is able to play and be rough with them, and she respects them when they have had enough.”
Where countless other wildlife lovers have tried and failed, it seems that the Youngs might have a knack for raccoon rehabilitation. And while we don’t expect that Pumpkin will be returning to the wild any time soon, we can’t help smiling at these adorable photos from Pumpkin’s soon-to-be famous Instagram account.
