MEET WILLIE From Upstate NY!

A friend, Julia raised an orphaned groundhog baby named Willie! I often wonder how Julia and Willie are doing now!

Julia lives in upstate New York. Her son found a very young (eyes not open yet) orphaned groundhog and gave him to his animal-loving mother for Mother’s Day in 1998. Julia bottle fed and cared for Willie with great care. One of Willie’s favorite playmates was the family pet cat! They would ‘wrestle’ and play games and never fought. One of her favorite toys was an old pair of earmuffs (center photo). Willie loved apples, and would sit on a little stool in the kitchen to be fed. When fall came, Julia noticed some kitchen towels and rags missing. Willie had snuck outside with them, and put them in a burrow she dug underneath the porch. It seemed to be forever as Julia waited for Willie to wake up in the spring. She wasn’t sure if Willie would remember her. Julia was so excited to finally see Willie in the spring of 1999 and said that she seemed a little “fuzzy” at first, but was soon happily eating berries and resuming some of their old routines.