My good friend Marie is a licensed Wildlife Rehabber and has a huge passion for helping animals in need. She started working as a Veterinary Assistant in University, fostering many sick, feral and orphaned cats/kittens and then started volunteering at Toronto Wildlife Centre, working with orphaned squirrels and chipmunks. She currently helps care for injured, sick and/or orphaned wildlife, many who come to her in grim shape.

While she primarily works with orphaned raccoons, this year she’s looking to expand to other species. Therefore she will be required to have a separate room in order to maintain strict bio security, and be up to code with the Ministry and therefore will have to split her basement in two. She will also need to purchase a whole separate set of supplies (cages, separate bedding, enrichment, etc) and require at least 2 more smaller incubators which run about $500 each.

Furthermore, she will be building an outdoor squirrel enclosure for weaned babies so they can acclimate to the outdoors and then be released once they are ready.

Many people don’t realize that wildlife rehabbers DO NOT get funding from the government and are not paid. They are reliant on donations from the community and their own personal pockets.

There is also a HUGE shortage of wildlife rehabbers in Ontario. As a result, many easily treated animals are often euthanized because there simply isn’t enough rehabbers, which is why she is hoping to expand on what she can intake.

Marie has helped rescue over 100 animals and with baby season around the corner, the sooner she can get things going, the sooner she can start saving more babies.

Any amount helps and she would be grateful for a simple share!