Animal physicians, heal thy roof

Published 7:00 pm Saturday, October 29, 2005

Island Wildlife Shelter raises funds to patch up a sagging facility.

There’s finally enough money to keep the doors of the Island Wildlife Shelter open, but an infusion of cash is still needed to prop up the roof.

“The roof was a problem from the start,” Sandy Fletcher, the shelter’s director of wildlife rehabilitation, said. “It drips right onto the treatment table.”

Still, the shelter has come a long way since opening in 1999 at Bloedel Reserve.

Its financial legs have threatened to give away every year or two. But through donations from fund-raisers like the upcoming Wildlife Spin, Nov. 5-6, where volunteers collect pledges for how long they can pedal a stationary bike (see box), and an auction next April, the shelter’s annual operating budget has doubled from $60,000 to $120,000 in about two years.

Kol Medina was hired last year as part-time executive director to bolster the shelter’s financial base. Thanks to his success, a part-time rehabilitation assistant has been brought on to keep up with the ever-increasing flow of animals to its doors – some injured in the wild, others by domestic animals.

The shelter treated 574 wild animals in 2004 and is on pace to break that record this year, due in no small part to a cadre of 20 volunteers who have donated “thousands of hours” over the years.

“We’ve been so successful that we’ve not only stabilized funding but increased our ability to care for wild animals,” Medina said. “A lot of stability comes from these types of programs (the spin) and the auction…and the membership base.”

However, continued fund-raising is needed – for operating expenses, and particularly for the facility itself. The shelter’s battered roof won’t take any more patches. Wood rot from leaking meant extended roof beams recently had to be cut to keep its insurance coverage, and moisture is leading to mold. Old flooring needs replacing to maintain a sanitary environment.

In the meantime, the shelter resourcefully uses what it has.

Eked out of donations over two years and staff elbow grease, a new outdoor raptor enclosure is near completion. The cage will hold up to four patients, and partitions can be removed as the birds gain strength to allow flight and exercise.

“The one thing we can do to reduce stress is provide as much of their natural habitat in the enclosure as possible,” Fletcher said, pointing to a brush pile whose insect-infested logs are a “treasure” to woodpeckers. Branches can create a tree-like environment for owls in the enclosures.

“When they’re inside, it’s very stressful because humans are around,” Fletcher said. Even animals in critical care recover more quickly “if we can get them out there, where they’re hearing natural sounds (instead of human-made sounds) and can get away from (the building’s) heating.”

Several other enclosures built specifically for geese and birds are also in need of repair, from deteriorating slats over window openings that keep the interior dim to the crumbling hardware cloth under a thick sand substrate on the ground that keeps animals from burrowing in or out.

Also on the wish list is a waterfowl enclosure, with a pool at least 4-feet deep and 6-feet in diameter, which would allow the shelter to care for cases that require more than a week to recover.

Currently an inadequate bathtub is the only place ducks and their cousins can float.

As the facility stabilizes its operations and patches up the shelter building, the staff also hopes to expand its community outreach as well.

“Every animal that Sandy can take care of and send back into the wild is a success, but to a degree, that’s a symptom,” Medina said. “We’re just fixing the symptom, so one of my goals is to keep doing animal work and move into education and advocacy.”

* * * * *

Bike for birdies

Get a Wildlife Spin registration form at www.islandwildlife.org or pick one up at Island Fitness and collect sponsor pledges for your spinning – pedaling a stationary bike. Spinning times will be 12-6 p.m. Nov. 5 and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at Island Fitness. No club membership is necessary.

Prizes for top fund-raisers including a half-year membership to Island Fitness or hands-on participation in the release of a rescued wild animal. For more information, contact Kol Medina at 855-9057.

The auction fund-raiser will be on April 15, 2006.