Hi Fellow Furs. I have for you a rather emotional story here, and I'm wondering if you can help these wonderful people known as the Greers out somehow. Here's the whole deal:

A West Seattle couple is suing the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for seizing their pet raccoon.

Kellie Greer and her husband, Chris, started caring for Mae as a newborn. Kellie found her at a park with her eyes still closed, smaller than the size of her fist. She saw a dead adult raccoon nearby and assumed that was the baby's mother.

The couple tried calling all available wildlife rehab centers, but to no avail. No one would take Mae. According to the lawsuit, Wolftown on Vashon Island agreed to let the couple become a "Subpermitee" if they agreed to follow rules like keeping Mae on a leash when outside and building an outdoor enclosure.

However, Wolftown closed in 2013.

It's been seven years, and Mae is now part of the family. She is potty-trained with a litter box, walks on a leash, has a special hammock outside and even went camping with the Greers. The couple has also been taking the raccoon to an exotic animal vet in Bothell for the last seven years, sometimes twice a year.

The couple says they never knew they were doing anything wrong. They never tried to hide Mae who became a part of their neighborhood. They also crossed paths many times with law enforcement and never received any complaints, they say. "She's part of our family. She doesn't know any different. Since her eyes were open we have been her mom and dad," Kellie Greer said. "She's imprinted on us. She's part of our family and her pack is at home," Chris added. The Greers never treated Mae like a circus attraction. Rather, they spoiled her.

"For most every time the Greers went camping with Mae during white-tailed deer season in October/November from 2010 through 2016, inclusive, WDFW game wardens observed the Greers with Mae when asking them to produce tags for fish and wildlife taken during those trips. Instead of citing, threatening to cite, warning, or otherwise admonishing the Greers against keeping her, the wardens fawned over her, took pictures with her, and, thus, encouraged the Greers to continue keeping the clearly tamed and human-friendly raccoon. When at the campground, Mae was in a harness and always under control, never constituting a nuisance,"

Mae has never been the subject of a citation issued by any governmental agent, local, state, or federal.

A recent camping trip changed everything….

A WDFW officer spotted Mae and took information from the Greers. Then on November 26th 2017, another officer showed up at their West Seattle home and took Mae.

"I thought he was there to investigate. I never thought he would take her," Kellie cried. "I'm supposed to work 10 AM to 5PM and I've been working 9 AM to 8PM because I don't want to be at home. She is so much a part of my life. I get up in the morning and kiss her and scratch her head."

WDFW found a rehab center in Quilcene to take Mae as an education animal, but the couple's attorney argues the Greers have a legal right to keep Mae. She's no longer wild, they say, and after seven+ years the Greers own her.

Procyons (i.e., raccoons) are not listed as potentially dangerous wild animals under RCW 16.30.010(2) in Washington State.

The raccoon's seizure comes just a couple weeks after three fawns and an elk calf were taken from a Rochester wildlife rehab and euthanized, sparking a mass public outcry. In that case, the animals were scheduled for release in the spring, but WDFW said the animals were too habituated to humans. For the Greers, Mae belongs at home with them. "I feel like I failed her. I've provided care her entire life," Kellie said.

Recently,WDFW Director Jim Unsworth has resigned, 'citing other professional goals.' He’s faced intense pressure to do so following several controversial issues, like the recently released Puget Sound Chinook management plan.

The Greers have set up pages for fundraising and signatures.

Signatures Page: https://www.change.org/p/washington-department-of-fish-and-wildlife-send-mae-the-raccoon-home-to-her-family?recruiter=849376107&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_petition

(4,212 out of 5,000 so far. Can you help to to push it over 5K to bring Mae home?The signatures will go directly to @WDFW.)

Donations Page: https://www.youcaring.com/maekellie.....sgreer-1034968

King 5 TV News #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5IaY2Ap-FM

King 5 TV News #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy3FMCKEwnM

The lawsuit is mentioned here: https://assets.documentcloud.org/do.....omplaint-S.pdf

Please Read This Entire Lawsuit Page!

On Twitter: #freemae #bringmaehome

That's about it for now. I didn't mean to be too maudlin then, but if I did--I meant it. And I do believe in fairness….

"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way."-Dr. Martin Luther King (Thanks to Red T. Raccoon for the quote!)

>Gets Off The Soapbox....