Wildlife Recue and Rehabilitation Center

Today was my first day volunteering at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Houston. It is located in the Heights area of Houston, right next to the Houston SPCA, who happens to sponsor the Center.

I first learned of the center after my failed attempt at rescuing a duckling from our garage about a month ago. For all of those who may have forgotten about Daffy, I have included a picture to help remember him by.

To recap that dreadful day, Sam and I found this little guy inside of our garage on a Sunday night. Sam wanted to just leave him on his own and "let nature take its course" but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep that night if I didn't at least try to save him.

So we put him in a cardboard box with a washcloth and I put a sock over him to help keep him warm until I could take him to the Wildlife Center the next day. I had read online that it was best not to feed him or give him any water, and that I had to call the Center before dropping him off.

I wake up early on Monday. Before taking a shower, I run down to the garage to make sure he is okay, cautiously opening the garage door and pausing before peeking into his box, fearing the worst had happened. I find him still kicking around, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He's alive! I run back in and call the Wildlife Center to let them know I was on my way. But not before a quick shower.

No joke, not even an hour later, I'm walking out the door about to pick up his box and load him in my car, and the little guy is laying on his back, wings spread out, not moving. What?!?!?!? This can' t be happening! It's been like 45 minutes. I start to panic. I figure, what do I have to lose? I decide to take him down to the WC anyway.

I call Sam in a panic on my way, not sure of what to do. I can't afford veterinary care, I can barely afford it on my cat and dog, so I decide to keep driving down the Heights, about a 30 min drive on a good day.

But alas, he was not meant to make it. He was dead before I arrived. I was so incredibly sad that he had died, and worse, that it was my fault.

One good thing did come of this tragedy though: I was introduced to the Wildlife and Rehab Center! I have always wanted to work with wildlife. As a kid, I was fascinated with wild animals and wanted to know everything about them. I'm laid off, so now is as good a time as any to start volunteering, so I took the reins and decided to jump right in. My orientation was last week, and today was my first day working with the wildlife!

I arrived a little late this morning, thanks to Houston traffic, at about 9:15. My first day and I'm already making mistakes, I thought, but it was no big deal.

My first job of the day was to clean out the Dove cages. I say cage, but they are really glass aquariums that are heated. Baby doves of various life stages are held inside. Most of the animals at the WC were brought there by concerned citizens of Houston who needed a place where they could be taken care of. Now I've never handled birds before, so I wasn't sure how to go about cleaning out these tanks. After a quick lesson from Debbie, the lady in charge, I was set out on my own, ready to fly on my own wings (pun definitely intended). Because we're not allowed to take pictures of the animals, except under special circumstances, I have included a photo of the types of doves I worked with today:


It's kinda funny how ugly baby birds really are. I mean most of them, excluding ducks, really aren't that cute. Is this nature's way of trying to keep predators away from them? Who knows. But Doves definitely get cuter as they get older.

So I successfully cleaned out about 12 tanks, and replaced the birds into their new clean homes. Some of them were grateful - some, not so much. Some copped an attitude and tried to fly off when I tried to pick them up, but they were no match for my quick reflexes. The trick is to keep your hands on top of their wings when you pick them up, without crushing them, of course.

After I was done cleaning, I somehow got assigned the task of picking up the dirty bowls inside the Opossum cages. Have any of you ever been up close and personal with an opossum? Here is what they look like:

Really scary. My first encounter with an opossum. Well, one that's alive anyway. Unlike birds, opossums start off cute and get uglier as they get older. And I was told all I'd be doing on my first day was feeding baby birds:0/ They even gave me a metal pole to "prod" them with in case they get too close to the bowls. And I'm just supposed to stick my hand inside their kennels and pray they don't suddenly reach out and bite me!

I managed to complete this task without getting hurt, and moved onto to the comparatively more mundane task of feeding baby birds, specifically mocking birds, nighthawks, finches and blue jays. That part was actually pretty fun, especially feeding the mockingbirds. They are big eaters! I got to feed them an assortment of moist dog kibble, raspberries, and crickets whose legs had been taken off.

It was a pretty fun experience! I'm excited to go back next Tuesday and learn more:)