Over 20 years ago, Mona Rutger realized that no one in her community was able to care for injured wildlife, so — alongside her full-time secretarial job — she became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Originally she envisioned caring for wounded animals as a part-time hobby, thinking she would get a few dozen animals a year. And yet when word spread about her, animals in need started pouring in. Her backyard sanctuary is now a 365-day a year, round-the-clock operation, one which rescues and rehabilitates more than 2,500 injured animals every year. Whether it’s a bird burned by a power line, a turtle wounded by a car, or a bobcat declawed by an irresponsible would-be wild-pet owner, all are welcome … and all are loved.

In addition to caring for and rehabbing the animals (over 40,00 since 1990, with over 60% of those helped being then successfully released back to the wild), the sanctuary also boasts an indoor education center where tens of thousands of people, many of them schoolchildren, learn about living in harmony with nature and showing animals their due respect. During the summer months, the sanctuary hosts free camps for underprivileged children who are unlikely to otherwise be exposed to nature where they live.

Mona’s organization depends entirely on private donations. She and her husband have poured their life savings into the sanctuary and its operation, even refinancing their home to continue the work.

“Everyone says ‘Let nature take its course’, and yet 90% of the animals’ injuries are human-related. That’s not nature; That’s us … We’re counting on the children, our world’s future adults, to do a better job taking care of the planet than we have in the past. I desperately want them to feel the excitement and the thrill that I find every single day in nature … Each and every animal we can help makes a difference. They each have an important role to play.” ~ Mona Rutger

 

Filed under: In LOVE with Humanity by Scaughdt