Fellow Mortals--Compassion Changes Everything

Dear friend,

It’s been awhile since you’ve heard from us, and we hope we have a good explanation—it’s been another very busy season and we have provided necessary care to over 1700 injured or orphaned birds and mammals—with hundreds released in the last few months, including 80 just a few days ago.

2018 has come with great opportunities and challenges and changes. 

The new construction on our Critical Care Wing is coming along beautifully—from epoxy floors to barn doors to heated countertops and species-specific furnishings, Phase I is slated to open in November, and we are less than $100,000 from meeting the cost to finish Phase II—with many opportunities remaining to name a room or sponsor a specialized piece of equipment.

31 injured and orphaned deer received care—the largest number since deer rehabilitation became legal again in 2014. In May, we responded to 73 incidences where people believed a fawn had been orphaned.  All 73 situations were resolved without taking an animal into care.  We invest what we can in preventative education and have big plans for what we could achieve with greater funding.

May 23rd was a hard day, as we said goodbye to “Judith,” our foster white-tailed deer.  She had been a part of Fellow Mortals' family for 18 years since coming to us critically ill and emaciated.  From the fragile fawn she grew into a beautiful doe who was foster mother to orphaned fawns for many years.  That morning when I went to check on her was the first time she was unable to stand, too weak to get up and join her family to graze in their spacious half acre habitat.  

Our commitment to the wild ones is a promise: to release the wild one back to the wild if at all possible and, if a wild one stays with us when it cannot be released, we promise to give it the best  life possible in our care--no matter how long that life may be.

This year, Fellow Mortals' wildlife rehabilitators will provide 13,000 hours of hands-on care to over 2000 animals.  Because we donate so much of that time, your donation goes far to help the wild ones with us temporarily and those with us permanently. 

Fellow Mortals doesn’t close, not even for a day.   If we are equipped for a species, we will help.  People often drive many hours to Fellow Mortals to find care for the wild one they have rescued, rather than see it put to sleep because they can't find help.  We see the best in people every single day.  They make it easy to keep our promise to the wild ones.

Judith was and is our heart, and will always symbolize Fellow Mortals’ commitment doing the best we can for every individual that comes into our care.  Thank you for your gift that helped us keep our promise to her--and that will help us keep our promise to the wild ones who will need us tomorrow.

Links:

• Permanent foster parents at Fellow Mortals