Ruffled Feathers Parrot Sanctuary Inc.
Where Hope Takes Flight
Ruffled Feathers Parrot Sanctuary • April 17, 2025
A Day (and Night) in the Life at RFPS
One duck, one bat, two opossums and four baby raccoons. Twenty-four hours at a Louisville wildlife rescue, start to finish.
A Busy Day at a Louisville Wildlife Rescue
A day in the life of a Louisville wildlife rescue can go from quiet to chaos in a matter of minutes. April 17 was a perfect example, bringing us a duck, a bat, two opossums, four baby raccoons, and plenty of surprises along the way.
A day in the life of a Louisville wildlife rescue rarely follows a schedule, because the next call can completely change whatever plans we thought we had.
So come on behind the scenes with me. Some of this one hits hard, but every one of these stories deserves to be told.
Emergency Waterfowl Response
Let’s start with our feathered friends, because this one is important, folks. We had a duck come in after being hit by a car.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: when you see waterfowl trying to cross the street, stop and let them pass. Ducks do not understand traffic laws. (Trust me, I’ve tried explaining. They are terrible students.) A few minutes of your time can save a life.
Sadly, despite our best efforts, this little one didn’t make it through the night. Every loss hits hard, but it fuels the mission to educate people and prevent the next one.
Unexpected Bat Rescue
But the wildlife chaos was just getting started. Enter our surprise guest: a brown bat found chillin’ on the ground like it was having some kind of bat beach day.
Pro tip: bats don’t sunbathe. If you see one on the ground, something is usually wrong. This little guy was most likely dehydrated, which is something we see a lot. Please don’t pick one up with bare hands. Just give us a call.
And remember, these flying mosquito-munchers are our friends, even if they look like they raided Batman’s wardrobe.
A Tale of Two Opossums
Then, in nature’s version of a plot twist, we got two young opossums from different parts of the same yard. Life is funny like that. These little marsupial neighbors probably never knew they lived so close to each other.
Sadly, one of them didn’t make it through the night. Its sibling is fighting strong, though, and that’s the reminder we hold onto: even on the tough days, there’s hope.
This is the part of a day in the life of a Louisville wildlife rescue that most people never see: the driving, evaluating, coordinating, feeding, cleaning, and figuring out what needs to happen next.
Night Falls at Our Louisville Wildlife Rescue
Even after dark, a day in the life of a Louisville wildlife rescue does not necessarily slow down. Wildlife certainly does not keep business hours.
And because sleep is apparently overrated (who needs it, right?), the night brought us four tiny orphaned raccoons. Nothing says a good night’s sleep like getting up for bottle feedings around the clock.
These little masked bandits are doing great. And let me tell you, there is nothing quite like those middle-of-the-night feeding sessions when it’s just you and a handful of tiny lives depending on you.
How You Can Help Wildlife Rescue in Louisville
If you want to help keep our around-the-clock rescue going, every donation helps keep the lights on and the rescue supplies stocked.
And if you see wildlife in distress, don’t wait. Reach out. We’re here 24/7, because these critters don’t exactly keep office hours.
By the end of a day in the life of a Louisville wildlife rescue, the individual calls may start to blur together, but every animal helped represents one more life that had someone show up when it mattered.
Just another day (and night) at RFPS, folks. Every day brings new challenges, new stories and new chances to make a difference. Whether we’re saving a life or keeping someone comfortable in their final moments, this is what we do. This is who we are.
And a big thank you to our friends at Fairleigh Pet Center on Dixie. When one of our patients needs more than we can give at the sanctuary, they are the ones we call. We are lucky to have them in our corner.
From the night shift, with love.
From all of us at Ruffled Feathers.
Photos From That Day
More about rescuing LOUISVILLE wildlife
Helpless Raccoon Lying in a Driveway Needed Urgent Care
Exploring August 27 History Through Wildlife Rescue Stories
Kiki’s Journey: A Moluccan Cockatoo Rescue Story
#WildlifeRescue #RFPSInc #UrbanWildlife #WildlifeRehab #AnimalRescue #Louisville
Every rescue in this post started with somebody who stopped, called and cared. Stay in the loop, or help us keep the lights on.
Where Hope Takes Flight
