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| 2003 - Monika
Chock USA; Anni Witt
Germany;
Sam Harris Great Britain; Meghann Cant,
Canada; Alison Clark, Canada; Tiffany Gilchrist,
Canada; Meghan Logie, Canada; Teri Walker,
Canada; Jordana Baily, Great Britain; Sara
Grillot, USA; Kristen Rzemien, USA |
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| Monika
- Arkansas, USA |
| What can I say? How do I describe
this experience in the mere expanse of a page
of words? It is impossible to fully capture the
feeling of syringe feeding a baby squirrel, fingers
gently wrapped around the tiny furry body as its
nose wrinkles and its cheeks pucker rhythmically
with each gulp of milk… or the feeling of
gazing into the intent curious eyes of a raccoon
as it tugs at your hair or runs an inquisitive
paw across your cheek. I can only say that it
is magical and awe-inspiring and truly gives one
a sense of place and purpose with respect to life. |
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For this job is about saving
lives… not via exciting emergency room
rescues, but through patient, loving care. I
gave subcutaneous fluids and intramuscular antibiotic
injections and observed the suturing of several
gaping gashes on a young raccoon's forearm.
But I also chopped endless mounds of fruit,
lugged garbage, scrubbed down cages, and mopped
floors--- all part of the rescue… necessary
factors in the rehabilitation process. And witnessing
the release of our animals validated every ounce
of effort spent on their behalf. The squirrels
bounding across the forest floor, tracing imaginary
scalloped fringes into the air with their leaps…
or a raccoon tentatively reaching out a paw
and examining the splintery roughness of a tree
and the downy softness of moss.
Some people might ask, what difference does
it make? Why all this effort to add one more
squirrel to an already vast population, to contribute
one more deer to the forest, or to send one
more raccoon scampering into the wilderness?
Simple. Every life is precious. Every life is
a miracle worth being saved and cherished.
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| Anni
- Germany |
| The people and pets at Critter
Care: We slept in a cabin with 4-6 girls with
the age from 19-32. To me it was nice to stay
together and to have a common home. Standing up
at the same time (suffering together..) and to
make some jokes when you lay in bed - that's great!
Our supervisors (Jacinta, Christi, Gail) told
us what to do and organized the day. They often
had a hard time when to decide what to do first
or when to put a suffering animal to sleep.
When we had time we spent the evenings (between
the feedings) for example at the fireplace with
Judy and Edith, the outside workers of the station.
They were always very helpful and funny, they
made my stay at Critter Care extra nice. |
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| I also enjoyed
the time very much with Jonquil and Maureen
who are beside many other things responsible
for the education at schools. I went with them
to schools and senior places to tell them about
the work at Critter Care, to teach them about
the wildlife animals and to ask for donations.
Their humour and heartiness helped me a lot
in hard times. There are many volunteers and interns that
are helpful. But some of them just seem to come
because they want to touch the animals and have
a special time. That was frustrating and not
motivating for me at all. I think it must be
clear to everybody what it means to work at
a station like Critter Care. Just those people
who want to give 100% should come and stay,
otherwise it is more work for Gail and her team.
I loved the Saturdays. Many people came to
the station and helped. It was a very nice and
busy day with a friendly atmosphere. Richard
also came to help and Gail always spoilt us
with the best muffins and donuts, so it was
a kind of family-day-atmosphere to me.
The dogs Echo,……… I love
them! To play and go for a walk and to see them
every morning with waving tails coming up to
me, that was so nice!!!
But then, Schnuddel an Stups came to us. I
raised two Grey Squirrels with a syringe and
was afraid to do something wrong. The others
always laughed about me because I was worrying
about everything…. I really loved them,
they grew very fast and so I had to adjust their
cages to their age and experiences. The day
I had to bring them into the forest was hard
and I learned that it is better not to spend
too much time with the animals and always to
keep in mind that they are no pets. I think
I would handle it in a different way next time.
I also raised four raccoons, Mojo, Jazz, Flower
and Lou. They had no milk from their mom for
five days, because humans scared the mother
away. I was happy to help them and got much
tenderness back. I can tell you that it is not
easy not to take them back home to Germany.
But sometimes I was very tired and powerless.
Imagine, four and more crying, hungry babies
crawling (and sometimes peeing) over you, scratching
your arms and legs, searching for milk on your
head - feeding them every 3 to six hours. Beside
you supply all the other animals, prepare the
food, clean cages, separate old and new food
that comes from supermarkets, answer phone-calls,
pick up new animals, examine and treat them,
drive to the vet, paint fences and cages, clean
the station, cook your own meals -
And I would always do it again!
Thank to you Gail that you are supporting the
animals and that you put all your energy into
this work. Thank you for a very special time
in my life and for your endless encouragement
and love. |
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| Sam
- Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Last year while scanning volunteer
possibilities within the field of animal welfare,
I came upon Critter Care's website and I applied
to work as an intern. Early in the new year, I
received a reply. Gail Martin offered me a six
month internship at Critter Care. I had always
wanted to see Canada or Alaska for the wildlife
and forest parks. I thought I might even be lucky
enough to hear the song of the wolf. So on March
27th, I packed my bags and left Northern Ireland
for Canada. I had no experience, just a desire
since I was a child to work with animals. Critter
Care came into existence because of raccoons and
they get bucket loads of them. My last count near
the end of June was 107. But it was not raccoons
that attracted me; it was another animal that
Critter Care rehabilitates - Coyotes! I hoped
that within the six months that I would intern,
a few would come in. I would have been content
to be surrogate parent to fawns or raccoons, and
to help with Hoover, but I never kept it a secret
that I would love to raise coyotes. |
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he first two coyotes arrived in
early May and I was appointed to parent them.
I was elated. The two pups were in good shape.
The mother coyote and other pups had been poisoned
by someone who regarded them as pests. But the
two pups were spared. A few days later, another
couple of coyote pups arrived. These two were
survivors when their mother and siblings were
shot.
As I prepared to raise the four coyotes, the question
that plagued me was how I best could prepare my
pups for wild survival. What is the balance between
too much and too little human interaction or intervention?
One ground rule I established from the beginning
was to never speak to them. They were not my pets.
I had names for each of them, but I never called
them directly by name. I kept human contact to
a bare minimum. The only time they were handled
was to administer medication, treatment or vaccinations.
Later another coyote pup arrived at Critter Care.
This one was in bad shape, suffering from extreme
malnutrition and dehydration. She could barely
hold her own weight the first few days. Her legs
would shake uncontrollably whilst she ate cooked
chicken from a bowl. Mange had stripped her of
almost half her body fur. But gradually she improved
and was able to join the pack. I spent hours
observing my pack of coyotes and I soon found
that these animals are pretty smart cookies.
It came as no surprise to me to learn that there
are about 20 million coyotes in Canada.
But being an intern involved much more than
nurturing my coyotes. It is very tiring and
at times stressful. The upkeep of the Triage
Center is a full-time job in itself. The mountains
of laundry, the never ending stream of feeding
dishes, the cleaning…. But if one wonders
if it is all worth it, a look into the eyes
of the orphaned babies should provide the answer.
I worked with eight other interns and two supervisors
and they all worked very hard. My thanks to
all of them for good times and fond memories.
Thanks also to Gail and Richard Martin. I am
sincerely grateful for the four months of experience
at Critter Care, especially for the time with
my beautiful coyotes. If true wealth in life
is the richness of the soul, and animals are
your love, a person will leave an internship
at Critter Care with a degree of wealth that
no amount of money could ever touch. |
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