I’m 24, and for as long as I can remember, a huge chunk of my existence has been spent with animals. I grew up in a house in the woods, so wild animals (squirrels, birds, chipmunks, groundhogs, deer, ducks, raccoons, and squillions of insects) were commonplace, and I loved them all. My family ended up taking in a stray cat that someone undoubtedly dumped. That was in 1986, and she only passed away last July 6th, 2006. She had a fabulous life! I’ll post a picture of her pretty soon.
Since we moved to Iowa, I’ve volunteered at our town’s no-kill shelter, and have also rescued many animals. Let’s see…
I rescued a baby squirrel that got blown out of his nest when he was just weeks old (I’ve posted his picture here; I called him Squire). If you want info on raising squirrels, there’s a fantastic website: http://www.hal-pc.org/~jbsum/squirrel.html. Squire grew to be stunningly beautiful and healthy, and had a nice long life out in the neighborhood. He never ventured far from our house, though, and it was always a treat to get to see him hopping around the trees outside.
I rescued another squirrel that I believe got hit by a car. I found him in the middle of the road, and he was bleeding. I rushed him to the vet, and they said I should have him put down. I refused, and had him for about 2 weeks after that. He was doing very well, but he finally succumbed to something I had no idea he had, which was worms. That was very sad. But he had a very good last few weeks.
I rescued 4 oprhaned baby mice, and hand-fed each of them about 5 times a day for 4 weeks, and then released them. If you’ve never hand-fed a baby mouse, you may not appreciate just how difficult it is… They’re super rambunctious! And tiny! I actually had to fabricate my own feeding “bottle” for them that was small enough to fit in their mouths. I was proud of that one, it was quite inventive!
I rescued a pigeon that was flailing and flapping on the side of a busy road, obviously having been hit by a car. I kept him/her in a cat carrier for the night, and the next day I released it, and it actually sat on my hand for a long time, seemingly not wanting to leave. He/she flew away eventually, and was fine.
I also rescued a dog from a neglectful, borderline abusive situation. He was a boxer, and he was such a sweetheart. Basically, I took him, and hid him away in a friend’s house for a month, and finally was able to find him the most loving home a dog could dream of! He’s doing very well, and his new guardians adore him.
I can say without a doubt that there’s no greater feeling, no greater rush than when you know that you’ve saved the life of an animal in need, or, at the very least, made its last days/weeks/months comfortable, warm, and full of love and care.
For anyone who may be interested, I highly recommend the book Out of Harm’s Way, by Terri Crisp. It’s amazing. Whether or not you’ve ever rescued an animal, or even want to, this book is truly wonderful. Poignant, sad, hilarious, sweet, amazing. It beautifully illustrates the joy, the heart-break, the adventure, and the fulfillment one can get from rescuing animals. It’s certainly some of the most fulfilling work I’ve ever had the honor to do!
