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Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, Inc. (a 501 ©3 non-profit organization) was formed over twenty years ago to meet the increasing need for wildlife assistance in the Greater St. Louis area and surrounding counties.  Each year, over a thousand injured, ill or orphaned wild mammals are received by Wildlife Rehab Clinic rehabilitators.

We care for all native Missouri wildlife. In the last year alone we have successfully rehabilitated and released red foxes, raccoons, opossums, beavers, skunks, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, flying squirrels, and one very special American Badger.  The techniques used to care for these animals maximize their chances for survival when they are returned to their native habitat. Our volunteers attend training courses and seminars to acquire the specialized skills necessary to give these creatures the best care possible.

The goal of rehabilitation is the release of the animal back into the wild in a physical condition that optimizes survival. Rehabilitation involves evaluation of the injury, illness or age of the orphan. A treatment plan is then developed and followed.  The healthy animal is placed in caging to build muscle tone and learn the necessary survival skills that they will need for their future.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, Inc. is eager to share our message of peaceful co-existence with all things wild; respect for ourselves, each other and our environment; as well as responsible stewardship of our environment and wildlife ecosystems through educational experiences with the public.  Twice per year we invite the public inside our facilities in order to see first-hand the animals that we strive to serve.

On May 2^nd, 2010, our Spring Open House event will occur from 1:00pm – 5:00pm at our facility, located at 1864 Little Brennan Road, High Ridge, MO 63049.  It is the one opportunity per year for members of the public to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Wildlife Rehab Clinic’s facility, and our spring baby patrons.  Our rehabilitation staff will be present to introduce the public, adults and children alike, to our wild neighbors, up close and personally.

In addition to our own educational programs and activities and clinic tours, we will have several fundraising endeavors underway.  During the Open House there will be a BBQ, raffles, a silent auction with several family vacation packages available, face painting, balloons, ice cream, and a full gift shop. The St. Louis Herpetological Society, House Rabbit Society, and St. Louis Children’s Zoo will be in attendance with even more animals to enjoy as well.  The event is always a huge success with families and people from all walks of life.  We hope to see over 1000 people in attendance this year.

Caring for orphaned and injured wildlife is expensive. Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, Inc. does not receive any federal, state or local government support. All of our operating funds come from concerned individuals and corporations. Your support is critical to our success.

If you or someone you know are part of an organization that would like to sponsor or assist the Wildlife Rehab Clinic’s Open House event, please call our event hotline at (636) 674 – WILD.  To report a wildlife related incident please call (636) 677 – 3670.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for animals. A few weeks back I decided I needed to volunteer somewhere to relieve some stress from work and the rest of life. I was looking through the volunteer ads in Craigslist and came across an ad for a wild animal rehab center looking for assistance with their upcoming baby season. The timing couldn’t have been better. I filled out the application on a Friday and was called on Saturday by the volunteer coordinator. We talked for about 20 minutes about what to expect, why I wanted to do it, and what my experience with animals was. I was asked if I could start last Thursday (February 11th). My shift would be from 7 to 11pm.

When Thursday came around I was a little nervous. I am not the most outgoing person in the world and doing things like this on my own aren’t something I am usually comfortable with. I decided to get over it and go help some animals. When I arrived I was greeted by two very friendly, helpful volunteers. They gave us (two other new volunteers) a quick tour of the building which was a retrofitted Sonic, pretty cool. The animal load is pretty light at the moment, a few racoons, some beavers, some squirrels, and a super friendly opossum.

I was very impressed with the organization of the clinic. Every animal has strict diet that gets them all of the nutrients they need as well as keeping close to with what the will eat when they are released back to the wild. It really made everything less overwhelming.

We started off by cleaning several squirrel cages and feeding them their dinner. The clinic has two shifts per pay so the animals had eaten in the morning. After taking care of the squirrels we moved on to the raccoons. They are really cool animals. The ones at the clinic are late babies from last year so they stayed at the clinic over the winter. Some of them like to stick their hands out of the fence and let you shake it. Very cool. The beaver cages didn’t need much cleaning so their food was just replenished. We moved on to the indoor animals including my favorite, an opossum. It is such a sweet and cool animal.

I am really looking forward to my time helping out at the clinic. Great bunch of people who care deeply about the animals and getting them back into the wild.

The URL for the clinic is: http://www.wild-life-rehab.com

I will ask if I can get some pictures next time.

Stay well.