What qualifies us do this? 

By virtue of our training and facility inspections, the state of Virginia licenses us to do this work.

We have two years of training as hands-on apprentices before becoming a standalone rehabber and we take six hours of continuing education every year. We belong to state and national organizations, we form friendships and mentorships with other wildlife rehabiliators to exchange information and support each other. Per State and Federal regulations, we must get rabies pre-exposure shots to work with rabies vector species (raccoons, fox, bats, skunks and groundhogs).

We must provide proper food and shelter for the animals in our care with the goal of releasing back to the wild.

We rely on your kind donations to do this work.

We’re not reimbursed by the State or Federal government and we are unpaid staff. All costs come out of our own pockets – and it does get costly. We purchase species-specific milk replacement formulas. We must provide foods typical to what the animals would eat in the wild. This includes hard nuts, vegetables, fruits and even meats (for carnivores).

We provide housing appropriate for each species (some species’ living quarters can only be used for that species and not shared with others). Cages range in sizes from small neonatal to medium to large as the animal grows. They finally reach the large pre-release housing. Some animals require specialty areas (such as digging areas for under-ground dwellers; or high fencing for jumpers). The costs mount rapidly, typically in the thousands each year.