Dray McMillon and his two boys, Rylen, 12, and Daiton, 14, returned to their Texas home earlier this week following a family excursion. The two lads made the decision to go exploring in the neighboring woods with only a few hours of daylight remaining.
Daiton and Rylen encountered various animal burrows along the road, one of which had collapsed. It wasn’t empty, though.
They discovered a raccoon in the hole that was two to three feet deep. According to McMillon, just his head and front legs were visible. “The lads phoned me right away and informed me what they had discovered.”
The raccoon was buried alive as a result of the burrow collapse.
It’s unclear exactly how long the raccoon had been stuck there, unable to escape the hole. But Daiton and Rylen had found him in time — and they knew they had to help.
They ran home and got their dad, leading him to the spot.
“When I arrived, the raccoon was gasping for air,” McMillon said. “It was very sad to see this animal struggle. My boys were very adamant that we had to save the animal.”
Using a shovel and their hands, McMillon and his sons carefully worked to dig the raccoon out. As night fell, they called the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, who sent volunteers to assist.
And working together to save his life, the desperate raccoon was finally freed:
Fortunately, the raccoon was well enough to be released shortly after, despite being tired. The animal that Daiton and Rylen had fought so hard to save moved away from the area alive and free because of them.
My guys had a sense of success, I could see it,” McMillon said. They were overjoyed to see the animal safely freed.
Had Daiton and Rylen not found the raccoon and persisted on sparing his life, things would probably have turned out quite differently for the animal. They simply feel glad that they were able to assist when they were needed.
They told me about their delight when we returned to the house, according to McMillon. “I knew they wouldn’t soon forget this,” the speaker said.
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