My Story - One Year Wait Unfair to Baby Animals
UPDATE! Today, May 19th, 2008, I received my State Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit for Texas! I now can accept all mammals, except endangered species, fawns, foxes, and coyotes!
My name is Birgit Sommer.
I am a licensed wildlife
rehabilitator for the State of Texas, the Director of the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue in Stephenville, TX , as well as a
volunteer and foster parent for the Erath County Humane Society.
| I, like many other licensed wildlife rehabilitators, work out of my own
home and volunteer my time and just about every spare cent I can
gather towards the animal rescue efforts and public wildlife awareness.
No local or state funding is available for animal caging, veterinary
care, medicine or food. That's why most rehabilitators gratefully
accept donations towards the care of animals they receive from the public.
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Orphaned Raccoon |
Some folks find the idea of wildlife rehabilitation ridiculous or claim it's "messing with nature". These folks neglect to see that most wildlife related calls that require our human intervention ARE the direct result of unnatural conditions such as careless people, toxins, poisons, automobiles, guns, traps, lawn mowers, just to name a few.
Orphaned Opossum |
Often we are confronted with animals that have suffered very disturbing wounds and other horrible injuries.
Some animals come in poisoned, injured by cars and left for dead by humans.
The stories and cases are endless and heartbreaking. |
We as wildlife rehabilitators are dedicated warriors on the front lines between suburban development and natural habitat and are grateful for every support we can get.
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My mission in life has always been helping to protect and nurture animals injured or abandoned, regardless if they were wild, exotic, or domesticated. In fact, by the age of 5, I was already known as “Miss Dolittle”. Since that time, up to the present, I have been an active volunteer at many rescues and shelters in different parts of the world for more than 25 years.
In 2000 I moved to Stephenville, Texas. I learned of the lack of wildlife rehabilitators in the area and decided that I could fill that void.
I inquired about the legal regulations and learned that helping migratory birds required two permits, from both the State and Federal wildlife agencies.
I sent in the Federal Permit with the intention to get that one out of the way first and then fill out the application for the State Permit a short while later. |
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The reason for this was that I still needed one more outside enclosure to pass the required State inspection necessary for the State permit. I learned later on that I had to apply simultaneously for both permits, so the application for the Federal Permit was put on hold.
Then the news came that we are going to be moving soon, which meant I would have to go through the entire wildlife application process again. I put the State Permit off as well as spending the money on the material for a new enclosure, expecting to be moving within 3 months. These 3 months turned into 3 years, this time due to paperwork delays by the Federal Government.
In the meantime, I was actively helping out at the local animal shelter on a regular basis. A licensed rehabber was there in the beginning to show me how things worked. Then the rehabber moved to another county and I continued to help out at the shelter. Over the next 3 years I established and registered a non-profit organization in Stephenville to help support the ever-growing wildlife care needs that were not covered by the limited resources of the local Humane Society. |
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