Megan Mosby
Executive Director
As I sit here penning this blog, the hall outside my office and the board room are chuck full of items that you could win at our Wishes for Wildlife auction that will be held on October 23rd. All you need to do is buy your $25 ticket… and then bid to your heart’s content. You don’t have to dress up, drive across town, or get LYFT or UBER. This could be a total win-win situation…treasures for you, operating funding for Liberty Wildlife programs. Every time I make the rounds of the boardroom, I find something else that I want to bid on…you will too!
There are trips, creative themed baskets, décor for your home, libations, art, collectibles, all kinds of cool items including that Play Station 5 that you have been yearning for but couldn’t get! Things that you didn’t even know you wanted, needed or thought of are sitting around the room on tables and shelves ready to make you smile or to be gifted to some other lucky person to make them smile. All you have to do is buy a ticket and tune into the auction. It could be the best one in years.
Also, I want to explain the “party” concept. For a mere $750.00 you can throw a party at your home or office You can make this the most unusual and talked about event in a long time. It takes nothing more than inviting family and friends…maybe ordering a pizza or throwing something on the grill…casually dressed, sitting on the patio or in your family room and tuning in the program at the given time… 6:00 p.m.
Liberty Wildlife will provide the entertainment. The auction will actually go live the 18th of October, so that you will have plenty of time to peruse the treasures. At 5:30 PM, the education group can show up at your party place with animals and handlers to give your friends and family a close up look at some truly stunning creatures….and they will pack some other very cool surprises. This is a great opportunity for you to introduce those near and dear to you to an organization and mission that is near and dear to us.
And, while you are at it… there will be a chance for you to double any donations that you make to us in our “Call to the Heart” or our “Fund a Cause” section. A longtime and very generous donor has agreed to match your donations in these categories! So, on the off chance that you don’t see anything that you are burning to bid on, consider a straight donation to our mission and have your gift doubled! That also doubles the impact of your support for all of the good work we do at Liberty Wildlife.
Try to imagine what would happen to the injured or orphaned wildlife in your yard or neighborhood without us…and then reach deeply into your resources and donate to Liberty Wildlife!
I hope to see ALL OF YOU virtually at Wishes for Wildlife…get a behind the scenes look at the happenings at our campus and around the state. And if you are out of state…remember that we are ALL connected!
This Week @ Liberty – October 12, 2021
As the outside air temp cools, the intake rate slows down with the passing of the season into Fall. In the face of that, we are currently only 20 short of last year’s total intake, and as of last Saturday, we were 793 ahead of last year on this date and time. We historically use this slow time to dive into the new Education Season, do some much-needed maintenance on the facility, and gear up for our fundraising extravaganza Wishes for Wildlife. The drop in temps means we don’t have to ‘hose down’ the birds anymore, and the extra manpower can be reapplied to cleaning and restocking, training new volunteers, and working with new educational ambassadors as well as developing new attractions for public hours. Then there’s the upcoming holidays to plan for (that means getting the Christmas tree out of storage!), the volunteer picnic to arrange, and classes for Med Services, Rescue and Transport, Med Services, and Education to set up. And after all, the intakes never really stop, they just kind of taper off for the next few months. There is never a dull moment around Liberty Wildlife…
Still more orphans
This time of year we are used to seeing intakes of animals that were born last spring in the true “Baby animal” season. These yearlings are juvenile but nearly the size of adults and are learning life skills to carry them through their first year. So even though we were planning to close down Orphan Care a couple of weeks ago, we are still getting baby birds brought to the intake window here in October! Maybe it’s a function of climate change or some other poorly understood phenomenon, but these off-schedule youngsters still need our help to make it through the first few weeks and months of their life. The volunteers in Orphan Care don’t seem to mind staying around a little longer to feed and care for these late arrivals. When the Orphan Care room is closed for the year, any orphans remaining (or new arrivals) will be cared for by Daily Care or Med Services.
(Look for 5 pictures.)
Gun shot rock squirrel
We’ve seen our share of small mammals this year, including a lot of cottontail bunnies and round-tailed ground squirrels. One of the most common little critters that we have in this area is the rock squirrel, which we’ve all seen running in our back yards. They can be quite destructive in chewing on wires, digging under fences, and otherwise causing mischief around equipment we have placed in their world. In any case, they are ubiquitous in the Phoenix area and outside of their powerful front teeth, pose no real threat to humans.
Last week one of these little guys was brought to the intake window presenting some difficulty walking. Unfortunately, it seems hunting these small animals is legal and the people who brought him in said they observed him being shot by someone with a BB gun. He was examined by the Med Services team who x-rayed him and discovered he had three projectiles in his body. This had caused considerable damage including a broken sternum and fluid in his lungs. After trying very hard to save him, the extent of his injuries left the vets no real alternative but to humanely euthanize the little rodent. As we’ve said before, sometimes the magic doesn’t work…
(Look for 11 pictures)
Vet “Days”
Tuesdays have historically been “Vet Night” at Liberty, but since we have more truly wonderful veterinarians volunteering their time and services, new opportunities are opening up for our animals to get top-flight medical care. So, the term “Vet Night” is now expanding to include Saturday mornings. Now, all I have to do is drag my retired fanny over to Liberty then to get some more photos! I promise I’ll try…
We currently have a large (and therefore old) gopher snake being treated for a digestive problem. This is a very docile snake that might possibly join or Education team once he recovers from his medical issues.
The golden eagle that has been in our care for some time is still with us. He was the victim of what we suspect to have been an attack from another eagle. His injuries have limited his flight abilities for the present, but are apparently not life-threatening.
Another old animal that presented to us recently was this slider turtle. From his size, he is quite long-lived and apparently injured his jaw, probably from getting impaled with a fish hook.
A cooper’s hawk was recently treated for an injured wing, but fortunately no bones were broken. A new bandage and a wrap to aid healing were administered by Dr. Lamb last Saturday. And yet another bird was shot, this time a turkey vulture whose bones seem to be healing on their own (as they are designed to do). It’s unfortunate that turkey vultures are so slow and stable when they fly as that makes them easier targets for armed individuals who don’t know they are a protected species.
(Look for 12 photos)
The Way We Were
This week, I’m reposting photos from 2014 including Orphan Care after Baby Bird Season that year, Carol Suits conducting a new volunteer orientation in February of that year, the old Liberty parking lot after a monsoon storm in July, and a rare shot of the initial paving of Elwood Street exactly 7 years ago this week…
Thanks to everyone who wrote in commenting on the throwback section of TW@L!
(Look for 4 photos)
Posted by Terry Stevens
Operations Director
Retired