A Great Dane dog interacting with a raccoon near water, a cow nearby, outdoors during daylight. 3:23
The Dodo channel icon The DodoOriginal creator 762K views Save

A baby raccoon and his pit bull mom

A friend calls Kate about a baby raccoon she found in her tire wheel. He has gone days without his mom, and he's so underweight that Kate isn't sure he will make it. more

He does. Kate takes him home, where he wants one thing, and that's food. She names him Eto. By the third day he is a different kit, and soon she lets him explore outside.

Kate doesn't make him stay indoors, and that's when Eto starts to trust her. Then he meets Ashlyn, Kate's pit bull. She wants to protect him right away, and she stands there looking proud, as if to say, yep, this is my baby.

Ashlyn watches over Eto as if he were her own. She teaches him how to use his nose, how to find his way through the forest and what to look out for. She's his guard dog, and the two of them can stay out in the woods for hours.

A large dark dog sniffs near a small furry animal on grassy ground, with plants and a pipe nearby. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Ashlyn shows Eto the basics, starting with how to sniff out the world.

As Eto grows, the lessons get wetter. Kate and Ashlyn teach him to fish, and they all go swimming. Eto keeps walking underfoot, hunting for crayfish.

Somewhere along the way, mom and son turn into best friends who jump on each other and chase each other around. Once Ashlyn is out of mom mode, Kate says, "She's got the zoomies. She's running around like a crazy lady." She still knows when it is time to work and when it's time to play. At breakfast, she sits and waits for Eto to finish his.

A Great Dane dog interacting with a raccoon near water, a cow nearby, outdoors during daylight. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
A friend calls Kate about a baby raccoon she found in her tire wheel.

They teach each other, and Kate doesn't think Eto would be doing this well without Ashlyn. The door stays open, so he comes and goes as he likes. In time he stays away for three weeks, then comes back for a couple of months.

Because of that, Ashlyn takes it in stride when he leaves. "She was just like, he's grown up, I gotta let him fly."

He's happy now, living his wild life. Kate has one more hope. "Maybe he'll meet a little missus in the spring, and he'll want to bring her by for a snack."

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