Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education
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Friday, May 28, 2010

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Meet the Beaver!

Surprise! A little over a month ago, utilities workers in north-central Nebraska found a baby beaver that they thought had a broken leg! Poor thing. They picked her up and took her to the nearest veterinarian, which happened to be a spay-neuter clinic.  The veterinarian didn't have x-ray equipment on site, so she splinted the baby's leg and her assistant contacted us here at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab. A volunteer at the clinic transported the baby to Valentine, NE and cared for her overnight.  Then the next day, she drove the baby to meet Shelley, a Nebraska Wildlife volunteer from O'Neill.  Shelley took the baby back to O'Neill, where she met up with a couple more of our volunteers from Omaha, Susie and Dan.  They drove the baby all the way back to Omaha on the same day, a seven-hour trip in total, to make sure she received the medical attention and formula she needed!


On Saturday, April 24th, Dr. Keith Halsey at VCA Animal Medical Center x-rayed the little beaver's leg and determined that although it was sprained, it was not broken, and that it should heal without any intervention.  Nebraska Wildlife volunteers now have the long task of raising and rehabilitating this unique baby and returning her to the wild. 
Amy, this baby's primary caretaker, reports that she has been on formula for several weeks now, but is really beginning to eat solid foods.  She loves sweet potatoes and willow branches.  Her diet consists of several other foods as well, but those are her favorites!  
Since it has been such a long time since Nebraska Wildlife has had baby beavers, we no longer have an enclosure suitable for their rehabilitation and are in the process of a building a new, large enclosure, complete with a pool and "chew-proof" walls.  We couldn't do all of this work with our amazing animals if it wasn't for the support of our generous public-- so if you find your heartstrings tugged, please donate to our baby beaver's care and her new home today! We'll post pictures of her enclosure once it's built and keep you posted on her progress too!

Friday, May 7, 2010

VERY exciting news!

It has finally happened! Nebraska Wildlife Rehab has been offered a BUILDING!


(Meet Chuck, our president Kay's husband.)

Isn't it beautiful? Ash Grove is located a mere 10 minutes from the Sapp Brothers interstate exit, approximately 20-30 minutes from most of Omaha via the interstate and Highway 50, and it is right next to the Schramm Park State Recreational Area. We can do SO MUCH with this building. It will be our first center of operations ever, giving us a real street address and a base for conducting the business end of non-profit work. We'll staff it with volunteers to field the wildlife hotline calls! Transporters can drop off animals in need! We'll be able to host wildlife training and certification events, and call board and volunteer meetings in our very own space! We're even looking into hopefully hosting field trips for elementary children as well as possibly figuring out a summer internship program. The possibilities are truly endless.

Ash Grove Cement is generously offering the use of this building to us for a whopping $1 per year. We will be responsible for utilities, insurance, and routine upkeep and maintenance. For us to be able run the center on an all-volunteer basis we are estimating that we'll need an additional $10,000 per year, and we are needing to come up with that amount of money within the next 30 days. So on that note, we need your help!

1) WE NEED MONEY!
For insurance, utilities and other immediate building necessities, we absolutely must have $10,000 within the next 30 days. Otherwise, we may not be able to take on the responsibilities of this building and all the opportunities it could give us. That's not a lot of time! Nebraska is one of only three states without a permanent wildlife rehabilitation facility-- we are doing this ourselves, out of pocket, on our own time.

2) WE NEED VOLUNTEERS.
We need as many willing hands as possible to help us whip the building into shape this summer. The building is a bit run-down from disuse, but it's nothing a little elbow grease won't be able to fix.

Once the building is up and running, we will ALSO need volunteers to staff the hotline and help the public with their wildlife questions and problems. If you are interested in learning everything there is to know about wildlife in Nebraska, this is the volunteer gig for you!


Please help us make this happen for the animals! Please donate to help us secure this building and all of its advantages!


And please, do tell your friends.


Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. needs a home of our own to care for more animals and provide hands-on educational programs for the students of Nebraska. WE NEED YOUR HELP to make our dream a reality! Please donate today! Interested in learning more about "A Home of Our Own", click here.
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