Suzanne H.

Suzanne says that she actually didn’t “choose” to be a wildlife rehabilitator. The job kind of chose her. A raccoon came to her door starving and had a heavy metal 9” trap painfully hanging from its front foot. Suzanne knew that she just had to do something. She put cat food in the back of a dog carrier and when the raccoon went into the carrier to eat, she went out and quietly closed the door. Easy catch. Now what was she to do? She thought her state's DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources) would know the best place to go for help. Boy was she wrong. The DNR officer told Suzanne that she could not have ”that animal” without a license and to put it back outside. Suzanne told the officer she couldn’t do that and asked what she needed to do to get a license. Thankfully the officer took Suzanne seriously. He said she needed to apprentice with a licensed rehabilitator, so Suzanne contacted a wonderful mentor who sponsored and guided her. Ten weeks later, after many calls for advice and many hours of worry and lots of feeding, Rocky returned to the wild. Suzanne can appreciate the public concern of animals needing assistance, and she considers it a privilege to be able to provide a venue for orphaned, sick or injured wildlife. She says that wildlife rehabilitation is not only an opportunity to assist wildlife, but to also educate the public and offer parents and children an alternative with potentially a better outcome than the death of an animal. It shows people and teaches children that their care and concern for our natural environment is worthwhile.