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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS There are thousands of rehabilitators in the United States. We all have the same basic goal - to assist wildlife. However, our philosophies and methods may differ. It is important to understand that we speak only on behalf of Kindred Spirits. We do not speak for any other rehabilitator or wildlife organization. ONCE AN ANIMAL IS TURNED OVER TO YOUR FACILITY, WHAT HAPPENS? When an animal is taken into our facility, it receives whatever care is necessary - the ultimate goal to return it to the wild. What that care consists of is as individual as the animal itself. Though treatment varies depending on the situation, one thing never changes - we give each animal the best care we possibly can. WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE RETURNED TO THE WILD? We aren’t fond of statistics because numbers don’t reveal the whole story. Any wild animal able to be captured is typically in very bad shape. On average, about 50% survive. That is actually very high considering the condition the animals are in when we get them. Much depends on the species and the type injury. Some species tend to survive more often than others. For example, squirrels have a higher survival rate - in general - than songbirds or baby rabbits. The type of injury plays a major role as well. Cat bites are more often fatal than just about any other type injury. But each animal and its situation is taken on a case-by-case basis. Even though we've been doing this work for decades, we still mourn every single loss just as we did when we first started. We know that the patients here that don’t make it die warm, safe, comfortable, and loved, but we still want to save each and every one. As we all know, statistics can be easily manipulated, which is another reason we don't like using them. For example, some rehab facilities do not count the animals they euthanize, even though they may euthanize 50% of patients at intake. Others only count those that died after three days. That, of course, will falsely inflate their percentage of survivals. At Kindred Spirits, we just tell it like it is. We count every single death, regardless of when or how it occurred. If a patient dies within seconds of being placed in our hands, it's counted as a non-survival. If a patient dies on the drive to our facility, it counts as a non-survival. If an animal is immediately euthanized due to the severity of the injuries, it is considered a non-survival. What we consider "survivals" are the animals that survive their injuries, recover, and are able to be returned to the wild. Anyway, you can see why we don't like to get into the numbers because of how misleading they can be presented. At Kindred Spirits we do not compare our statistics with anyone else's for that reason. This isn't a contest. We do a tremendous job, we have a very good success rate, and we give these animals 100%... and that's the only statistic we really concern ourselves with. WHERE IS YOUR FACILITY LOCATED SO I CAN COME AND VISIT? We do not disclose the location of our facility for numerous reasons:
So as you can see, there are a number of important reasons why our location is kept confidential. We often get asked for exceptions to the "no visitor" rule, thinking it's no big deal if we let just them come by. We have even had people promise a donation, but only if they are able to visit. However, we are asked for exceptions "just this once" thousands of times each year! It would be very unfair to allow some folks to come and not others and we would never play favorites like that. But far more importantly, it is not in the animals' best interest. It would make no sense for us to completely devote ourselves to this work, then do something that completely undermined it. It would be sort of like Noah building the ark but then drilling holes in the bottom! At least you can feel good knowing we say no to everyone so we're not picking and choosing. We do recognize, however, that people are interested in our work and want to know donations are going to a professional facility and not someone with a few chicken-wire cages set up in their backyard (believe me, there are far too many "rehabbers" out there like that). Therefore, to maintain the needs of the patients while satisfying the public's curiosity, we have a section of our website entitled "virtual tour" where you can see our facility without actually visiting. IF YOUR LOCATION IS KEPT PRIVATE, HOW DO ANIMALS THAT NEED HELP GET TO YOU? DO YOU PICK THEM UP? Except for animals considered extremely dangerous, such as an adult deer, we request people bring us the patient. We meet in a public location about 15 minutes from our facility. We will provide detailed instructions on how to get the animal safely into a cardboard box in such a way that keeps you from being injured and without causing further injury to the patient. IF I CAN’T VISIT THE ANIMAL, CAN I CALL AND CHECK ON IT? We are happy to have you call (or e-mail) to check on the status and prognosis of your animal. We will fill you in on how she is doing, what has been done for her, etc. If she is doing poorly or she died, we will be honest and tell you. If a small child is involved, we will break the news to a parent and it will be up to him/her to decide what to tell the youngster. I used to call everyone with the outcome, good or bad, until I got cursed out by people who didn't want to know. So now we wait for the public to contact us for follow-up information. We are always delighted when folks do check up on the animal they brought to us, so don't worry that you're bothering us. On the other hand, we respect that some prefer not to learn one way or the other what happened to the patient. So it is completely up to you! WHAT IS YOUR FACILITY LIKE? Thanks to Peter’s building abilities, our facility has really grown since we started in 1991. We operate on 16 wooded acres in the country. We have an indoor nursery which houses babies, as well as critical patients. This allows us to keep a close eye on those with the most time-consuming needs. We have a separate wildlife hospital building that functions as our initial intake facility, examination room, and houses animals that are in the intermediate phase of their rehabilitation (i.e. well enough to no longer need the nursery/intensive care room but not well enough to go into an outdoor facility). Outdoors we have spaces for various small mammals, an aviary for songbirds on the mend, as well as several black bear compounds. There are other pens we'd like to construct, but those will have to wait until time and money allows. HOW LONG WILL MY ANIMAL BE IN REHABILITATION? That depends entirely on the animal and its condition. Those that survive may recover in hours or days. Most take weeks or months. A few have taken over a year. There is no set timeframe. No animal is ever rushed through their recuperation process. They can take as little or as much time as they need. It's silly to put tons of time, money, and energy into getting them through the crisis period only to release them before they're ready. HOW MANY ANIMALS DO YOU HAVE AT ANY ONE TIME? That depends on the season. There is never a time when we don’t have animals! We usually have between 45 - 70 at any given time, but the number changes daily as more come in, some die, and others are released. In our area, there are babies every month of the twelve! Then, of course, animals get sick and hurt year-round as well. Obviously some months are more hectic than others, but we are busy all year. DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN A CERTAIN SPECIES OF ANIMAL? Some rehabilitators specialize, but we take in any size, shape, or species of wild animal. We love and respect them all. In addition, we are firm believers that all creatures are created equal. A sparrow gets the same quality attention a hawk does. A field mouse gets cared for as lovingly as a rabbit. To us, each species has a place on this planet and none are more important, only different. WHO HELPS WITH ALL THOSE ANIMALS? Dana is responsible for the treatment, rehabilitation, and care of the animals. It is our belief that having one caretaker makes for a successful release later (even though it’s a lot for one person to manage!) She also handles the thousands of phone calls that come in annually. They range from reports of injured animals to general questions about wildlife. We are sometimes able to help without actually taking the animal. (For example, returning baby birds to their nests.) Peter helps (when he’s not working a full time job) by building cages, holding animals for procedures, helping with releases, cleaning cages, mixing formula, transporting animals and myriad other things. His assistance and financial support are pivotal to this work. Sherry is on the Board of Directors and serves as medical consultant on our really tough cases (she’s a registered nurse certified in neonatal intensive care). She was doing wildlife rehabilitation years before Dana first contacted her and got Dana started in the field. Sherry no longer rehabilitates wildlife due to other commitments, but Kindred Spirits is fortunate she remains a part of the organization. Dana's father, Bill, helps with repairs to the hospital building, cages, and equipment. He also goes by the post office once a week and picks up the mail. He runs errands and is basically available to help whenever/however we need him. MY ANIMAL DIDN’T SEEM THAT BAD OFF, SO WHY DID IT DIE? Most of the time, an animal is much more injured than it appears. As humans we tend to believe everything is minor unless we see lots of blood. In reality, the animal is often injured internally. Cat bites are generally undetectable, but usually severe. Dogs tend to cause internal crushing. An animal can also die from things like severe dehydration, loss of body heat, stress, disease, parasites, being chased, and shock. As mentioned earlier, most wild animals able to be captured are critical. The severity and extent of an animal’s injuries/illness are detectable by someone trained in this field after a complete examination, but usually not to the general public. DO YOU HAVE TO BE LICENSED TO DO REHABILITATION WORK? Yes, a state license is required for mammals. A state and federal license is needed to handle birds and birds of prey. Our facility has both. We also hold special permits to care for black bear cubs. It is illegal for an unlicensed person to keep a wild animal in captivity, even if they are simply nursing it back to health and intend to release it later. CAN YOU HELP WITH A SICK OR INJURED DOMESTIC ANIMAL? No. Only a licensed veterinarian can assist with domestic animals. We are not permitted, legally, to work on pets. This also applies to stray domestics that people find. These include dogs, cats, domestic rabbits, poultry, domestic birds, etc. If a domestic animal is feral, it is still considered a domestic animal, not wild, and you would contact animal control or the Humane Society for assistance. That said, we often have people contact us wanting help finding a lost pet, needing help placing a stray, etc. We try to help people whenever we can, however we can just because we love all animals. DO YOU GIVE PROGRAMS TO SCHOOLS OR OTHER GROUPS? We believe teaching others about wildlife is
important since 99% of our patients come to us as a result of
humans, whether direct or indirect. In previous years,
Dana gave several presentations a months. Now, due to time and
health limitations, she has had to cut back. We would love to
continue doing programs for anyone and everyone who asks, but is
physically no longer possible. We had to make some tough
decisions as to how best use our time. Although we believe
children should be taught to respect animals from birth, we do
feel the younger children probably got less out of our programs
than older kids and adults. As such, we no longer do
school presentations, at least at this time, but we do still do programs
for adult groups and children's groups (ages 11 or older) such as
scout groups or environmental clubs. There is no charge for
fellow non-profits (such as churches, civic groups, garden clubs,
etc.), but donations of money or supplies are gratefully
accepted. I’LL BET YOUR WORK IS FUN, ISN’T IT? Fascinating? Yes. Fun? No. This work can be extremely rewarding, but it is also exhausting, expensive, emotionally draining, frustrating, and heartbreaking. We deal with losing patients, are never able to leave for extended periods of time (let alone take a vacation), our phone rings constantly day and night, and the public can sometimes be demanding and difficult. We are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and have been since 1991. There has not been one single day in that time period we have not personally attended to our patients. Not one. There are no sick days, holidays, or vacation days here. So why do we do what we do? Working with these animals on a one-to-one basis like we do is a privilege and they renew our spirit. SURELY YOU GET PAID FOR YOUR WORK, DON’T YOU? Not only do we not get paid, but most expenses
come out of our own pocket. Donations don't come close to
covering what these animals require. HOW ARE DONATIONS ACKNOWLEDGED? Thank you notes are always sent. Whether you
are donating one dollar or one hundred, you will be sent a
handwritten, personalized thank you note and a receipt for tax purposes.
If it's your first donation, you will also receive one of our
flyers and our business card. If someone sends
a donation in honor of another, the donor still receives all the above,
while the honoree gets a card (or letter) announcing the gift, a
flyer and one of our cards. The amount of your
contribution is never disclosed. IF YOU NEED FUNDS SO BADLY, WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG TO CASH MY CHECK? Sadly, donations are few and the bank is far. Rather than waste a precious resource (gasoline) and spend funds unnecessarily, we do not drive to the bank every time we receive a check. We typically go to the bank every 4 - 6 weeks when we have several checks instead of just one. The fact we don't cash your check immediately is not a sign we have plenty of money and don't need it, but quite the opposite.. we don't have enough donations to warrant the trip to the bank. Our dream is to someday have enough donations pouring in that a weekly trip to the back is warranted! Wouldn't that be wonderful? HOW ARE DONATIONS USED? Donations go to help the wildlife...period.
We do not get one cent for what we do. We do not personally
profit in any way. Contributions go to buy food for the patients,
formula for the babies, medical supplies, medicines, cages.
Here are just a few examples of how your donations might be used:
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