Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

  "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are"
           ~Theodore Roosevelt


Our beloved cat, Pudge, erroneously named by the shelter where we found him, warms our hearts and home (most of the time). He snuggles into our laps, sleeps on our heads, purrs in our ears & is tender with our other domesticated animal pet, Patches the guinea pig.

 The thing is, he's also a hunter. He hides in the shrubs to hunt baby bunnies, he climbs trees to track down birds, he enjoys the ordinary mouse and appreciates the sport of chasing and capturing a vole.

He's a proud cat and dare I say, has a bit of an ego. He leaves his leftover conquests on our 3 doorsteps and even sneaks them in the house.  Little does he know, we aren't proud of his efforts. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful he's running, chasing, & climbing. Staying fit and healthy is what we are all about around here.  But killing as a sport is sad, particularly when we discover an injured animal. What then?  If the injury looks recoverable we send it back to the wild and hope the animal finds a safe haven.  If the injury looks life threatning I suppose some folks may assist in the demise out of compassion. Problem is neither my husband or myself have that ability.

We're quite a pair. I think the only way either one of us could hurt an animal is if our life depended on it.  Otherwise, we are left squeamish at family crabbing trips & in social circles discussing hunting. "Backing" the crab while it's still alive, can't do it. No way. No how.  Cook those babies and I'm in for the crab feed, but the prep work is all you!

Shooting at targets...heck yeah! That's fun. Let's go to the range. Shooting animals? Not gonna happen.

So what do we do when an injured baby bird lands on the door step? Call the local Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. If you are located in or near Whatcom County the number to call is #360-966-8845. Click here to view the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center website.  There is no charge to bring an animal to them. They operate on donations only without receiving city or government funding.

The kind folks at the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center were professional and sincere. They assigned our little bird a number so that in a day or two we could get an update.  Unfortunately the little one didn't make it.

Here's the nest our kids made the baby bird before the trip to the Rehabilitation Center. Rest in Peace baby bird.