NAPLES, Fla. — Two golfers bludgeoned a baby raccoon seven years ago on a North Carolina golf course.
The pair road off in a golf cart, laughing, before the animal was taken in and given to a wildlife rehabilitator.
Dorothy Lee would spend the next few weeks nursing the animal back to life, nearly euthanising him on several occasions when she thought all was lost, before deciding that the raccoon, whom she dubbed Trouper, was meant for a greater calling: Educating the public about how to respect wildlife.
"We took a tragedy and turned it into something positive," Lee said from her Fort Myers home this week. "It's not a tragedy anymore, look at him."
The unlikely hero dozed in Lee's arms, belly-up, his lips and chin caked with remnants of lunch — chicken nuggets, peaches and veggies — having succumbed to his regularly scheduled afternoon nap.
"You could march the U.S. Marine Band through here and it wouldn't bother him," Lee, 71, joked.
Trouper will be featured in an episode of the National Geographic TV show Unlikely Animal Friends, which airs Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
Trouper is blind and cannot smell. He stumbles and leans when he walks around, feeling with his padded hands and twitching whiskers. He can't even feed himself. Lee droppers water into his mouth every couple of hours and hand feeds him, sticking her finger into his mouth so he can chew it, throw his head back and swallow.
But boy is he a lover.
"He's the most laid-back, easy-going, lovable little guy," Lee said. "He loves to be touched, loves to touch you."
When he wanders around during classroom visits, he walks across students' laps and gently holds their hands, feeling his way around the visitors he can't see.
It wasn't always easy for Trouper, who lives the good life these days. Lee had to develop raccoon physical therapy to help him gain strength in his arms and legs. She used to place his hands and feet so he could learn how to walk. Lee has never left Trouper for more than five hours at a time. Every two hours he gets food and water and some form of stimulation.
Trouper sleeps in his own bedroom, which is full of toys that he can hear and play with. Most have bells or play music, which he is drawn to. His favorite singer is a young opera talent named Jackie Evancho, who appeared on America's Got Talent. When Trouper first heard her singing through the TV, he came into the living room and plopped down right in front of the screen to listen.
Lee went out and bought him Evancho's CDs and a boombox, then cut down a pair of headphones to fit Trouper's ears. When he listens, he purrs.
"He does it when he's happy," Lee said. "He's singing with Jackie."
Lee moved to Florida with Trouper when faced with euthanising him in North Carolina, where animals that can't be released have a year to recuperate before they are killed.
Instead of putting her friend down, Lee moved to Florida and obtained licenses to keep Trouper in her home as an animal ambassador and service animal. She also has federal licenses to take him across state lines for educational visits.
Her program, WildlifeEducationProject.org, outlines her goals and lets you schedule visits with Trouper.
Lee said she hopes the airing of the TV special will help spread Trouper's message about respecting wildlife.
"This is why he lived," she said. "This is his mission."
