LINCOLNTON, N.C. - "When I went to put him out, it didn't take, he just kept coming back to the door," says Michelle Ray.  She is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.  Many of her charges are released back into the wild but Woobie the Groundhog, now two and a half years old, developed a taste for the good life, and with Ray he will remain.

Woobie was abandoned by his mother.  Most of the groundhogs Ray rehabs have been hit by cars or attacked by dogs.  She is quick to point out, Woobie is not a pet, he is an "educational animal."  It's illegal in North Carolina to keep indigenous wildlife as pets.

Ray thinks events like groundhog day can educate people about the species, but if you think these creatures like the the spotlight, think again.  Ray says, "They drug 'em, they do.  It's very stressful for them to take them out, put them in front of a camera with a lot of people."

In fact, throughout our interview, Woobie made a stuffy sounding noise that Ray says he means he's not happy.  And if the noise doesn't scare you, his teeth might.  "He'll make ya have to get stitches," says Ray as she shows off some scars on her hand.

She uses a towel to handle Woobie.  He sometimes hangs out in her basement with Pookie the one-eyed squirrel.  Woobie, like all groundhogs, is supposed to be hibernating but this warm weather has thrown off his internal clock.  He couldn't care less about seeing his shadow, but he goes wild for butterscotch candies.  Ray says ,"Because you don't get them in all the time, it's neat to get them in."

Ray rehabbed 401 wild animals last year.  She says anytime you come across any injured wild animal, call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator right away.  The most important thing is to keep the animal warm, but don't try to feed them.