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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/11/uk-raccoon-rescuer-on-mental-health-stigma-animals-skunks>
"“Saving animals pretty much saved my life,” says Iain Jenkins, a raccoon
rescuer whose semi-detached home in Hartlepool appears as ordinary as they come
but is anything but. This is a house that Jenkins shares with raccoons, a
parrot and a friendly skunk and previously a whole host of exotic animals
including a crocodile in the conservatory.
Jenkins’ far-from-ordinary story is inextricably tied up with his mental health
struggles, which he is keen to talk about.
“About 20 years ago because of sheer exhaustion and stress I had a nervous
breakdown,” he says. “I basically ended up just sitting, staring at walls. I
had paralysis at one stage. If there was something to be counted, I counted it
over and over again. I just felt locked in, I couldn’t see where I wanted to
be.
“It was frightening because one part of you knows what the problem is but you
just can’t see a solution. Then I realised, do you know what, animals have
always a big part of my life, so I headed in that direction.”
Jenkins gave up a successful career in education and social care to devote
himself to animal welfare, setting up the non-profit Raccoon Rescue UK. He has
never looked back and is the go-to person if a raccoon or similar exotic animal
is on the loose in the UK. At present he is helping to lead the hunt for a
fugitive city farm raccoon, Meeko, in Sunderland.
Nearly 40 miles south, Jenkins shares his home with four raccoons, a grey
African parrot and a skunk whose favourite resting place is Jenkins’ bed.
The raccoons are in enclosures outside and include two brothers, Scout and
Nicky, who needed a home after another rescue centre closed down and who do
not, Jenkins says, want or crave any human connection."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
