A common call received by the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue is, “I have found an abandoned baby or injured wild animal.”

The most common questions asked are, “What do I need to do with it?”, “What can I feed it?” and then the most dreaded question “Can I keep it?”

That's where my job gets tough because the answers are often not the ones people want to hear.

If you came across a wild baby animal that appeared to be orphaned and helpless, would you know what to do?

How to help an injured hawk or owl, raccoon, opossum, rabbit or squirrel? A licensed wildlife rehabilitator is your solution.

A wildlife rehabilitator is a person licensed by the state to take in orphaned and injured wildlife.

They receive calls from people who came across a wild critter that appeared to be in need of human intervention.

Animals are also brought to rehabilitators by local animal control agencies, game wardens, police departments, sheriff offices, veterinary clinics and animal shelters.

Most folks in the US and Erath County have encountered the resourceful raccoon, or at least have dealt with the mess or damage these furry creatures leave behind in their foraging activities.

But coexisting with these intelligent animals is not so much of a nuisance once you understand their place in the ecosystem.

Raccoons are medium sized mammals but do not belong to the rodent family.

Getting the facts about rabies is not easy. Myths and misconceptions are as strong today as they were 4,000 years ago when rabies was first recognized.

When the average person today thinks about rabies, they typically imagine dogs gone wild, foaming at the mouth, and painful shots. Ignorance about rabies can be hazardous to your personal health and well being, as well as the safety of family members, beloved pets and livestock.

Among the mix of local wildlife is an unassuming creature that once roamed with the dinosaurs 70 million years ago.

Hard to believe, but the lowly opossum, most commonly encountered as road kill along county roads, is an enigmatic and remarkable animal.

Some folks in Erath County may call her a nut, but when it comes to squirrel rescue, Birgit Sommer knows her stuff.

As a licensed rehabilitator and founder of Rainbow Wildlife Rescue in Stephenville, Sommer has worked with dozens of squirrels endangered by natural disaster, injury or who have become separated from their parents.

Most folks living in Erath County have encountered rabbits. Coexisting with these furry, fertile creatures is not difficult once you understand them.

The most common rabbit species in Texas is the eastern cottontail, identified by its 2-3 lb. body, brown or gray coat, white belly, and distinctive white tail. They are common in brushy areas from southern Canada to South America.

Spring is just around the corner, and as the new season arrives so do the offspring of a variety of wildlife.

Kindhearted humans sometimes find -- and try to take in -- young birds, squirrels, fawns or rabbits that appear to be abandoned.

Roy Johnson, Taylor County game warden, said most of the time this is not the case.

"Mother Nature has a way of taking care if itself," Johnson said. "If you see a fawn, I promise you the mama has not abandoned it. She will come back and take care of it."

Not everybody in Erath County knows about the Humane Society Animal Shelter and its adoptable pets. A few of the people that do know about it have the wrong impression. They often think of it as dog pound-hell.  Maybe after reading the following story of the combined efforts of many people to make happy endings happen, they will change their minds and convince more pet lovers to adopt a pet instead of purchasing one from a pet store or a breeder.

It was a cold and damp morning on New Year's Eve 2007. My small wildlife rescue was empty for the winter and I was enjoying the relaxing moments before spring would present me with its orphaned critters again. That's when the phone rang and my life was about to be changed forever. On the phone was Judy Hallmark, the Erath County Humane Society's shelter manager....

Birgit Sommer has been a Stephenville resident since 1991. She was born in Germany and just last month, after passing a test correct answering questions covering U.S. government and history, she took an oath before officials and became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

"It just feels great to become a citizen of this country," Bridget said. "I studied hard in order to pass the test and now I can vote in this important election.".

Birgit didn't wait to become a registered voter before taking the responsibility of foster care of homes and abandoned animals in Erath County.

STEPHENVILLE -- Appropriately nicknamed "Miss Doolittle" when she was just 5 years old, Birgit Sommer is taking in orphans from Hurricane Ike.

Not the human kind. The small, furry kind.

Infant gray squirrels were found everywhere after Ike moved through the Houston area, blowing down their nests, and residents were desperate to help them.

Sommer, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, said before Ike had even moved out of the Gulf area, her phone began ringing off the wall and the e-mails started piling up. People were contacting her to see if she could help.

STEPHENVILLE -- Several volunteers were busy Saturday building a mesh wire enclosure at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue center in Stephenville to provide shelter for additional gray squirrels orphaned by Hurricane Ike.

Birgit Sommer, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, said members of the Tarleton State University Student Wildlife Society collected $62 in donations and are soliciting area businesses for materials needed to build shelters for the squirrels.

She said she has also received a check for $500 from a Buffalo Gap resident, lumber from Barns and McCullough in Stephenville and numerous smaller donations.