For all you urban treehuggers looking for a way to make a difference, Wildcare is asking people to help them raise money for a Dallas wildlife rehabilitation center by hosting baby showers for our animal friends.  Wildcare provides the games, programs and party favors — you provide the location, food and guests.

I attended a shower recently at my friend Lori’s house, and I learned all kinds of fun facts about animals in our area.  For example, when armadillos give birth, they always have identical quintuplets — four boys or four girls.  And baby rabbits nurse while lying on their backs with their mother standing above them.  I also learned that a group of squirrels is called a dray or a scurry; and a family of ducks is called a brace or a raft.  The most important thing I learned, though, is that Dallas is one of the only major metropolitan areas in the U.S. without a wildlife rehabilitation center.

Wildcare is working to change this and plans to open a new rehab center here next year.  A non-profit organization, Wildcare is made up of volunteers who foster ill, injured or orphaned native wildlife until the animals can be returned to their home environment.  It’s a hardworking group, but they run their operation out of their homes and need a central location with a triage center where veterinarians quickly can examine animals, provide them with proper care or humanely euthanize them if necessary.  It would also be a place where all of us could take the injured birds and squirrels we find in our backyards and ensure they have a chance at recovery.

I’m not a wildlife activist and usually prefer to give my dollars to causes that help people, but this project struck a chord with me.  As I’ve written in past blog posts, I live in the city of Dallas, and as much as I enjoy my urban surroundings, I am delighted that I share them with a range of wild animals:  squirrels, foxes, coyotes, rabbits, ducks, owls and doves.  In fact, I’m amazed at nature’s ability to thrive in our city and how easily man and beast can live side-by-side.  I want wildlife in my neighborhood, and I see the rehab center not only as a way to provide animals with immediate care, but also as a path to greater awareness of and appreciation for Dallas area wildlife.

Fortunately, Houston has a successful wildlife rehabilitation and triage center, and the Dallas facility will be based on that model.  To find out more about the new center and how you can help, have a look Wildcare’s video which is filled with tiny baby animals that will make you go “ah.”  If you’d like to host a wild animal baby shower — or volunteer in other ways — please call Wildcare at 817-237-8500.

Anne