The main theme of the My Doggie Says… blog is dog-people relationships. But it’s very tempting, sometimes, to write about more general animal-people relationships and about the intelligence and loyalty of our other animal friends.
My wife and I spent a delightful evening at a fundraiser for Wildhaven Ranch, an animal rehabilitation center, and sanctuary serving, mostly, but not only, the San Bernardino mountains of California.
When animals get injured and rescued, they are delivered to this wonderfully dedicated facility, where certified experts diagnose their wounds or injuries and try to implement a rehabilitation plan. This isn’t always possible. Sometimes, animals are too wounded to return to the wilds of the mountains.
The experts at Wildhaven Ranch are very concerned about the problem of “imprinting.” If animals become too comfortable around people, they begin to lose their unique “species” orientation. They can become dependent on people, unable to fend for themselves in the wild, or, in rare instances, they can turn against people, where their natural instincts would be to run away from humans.
Animals that can be rehabilitated and returned to the local mountains are kept away from people as much as possible, so that this “imprinting,” hopefully does not occur. But sometimes it either does occur, or it already has occurred. In these cases, Wildhaven becomes a “sanctuary” for animals that cannot return to their natural ways. In some cases, Wildhaven becomes a home for animals that became “imprinted” in other parts of the country.
During our evening at Wildhaven, we some wonderful animals, and we saw the special relationship they have with their handlers. Snickers and Little Bear are two black bears that now live at the ranch. They are certainly not “circus bears,” but it is fascinating to see the strong relationship their handlers have created with them. It was fun to watch the bears frolic and chase each other around their grounds, including through the “jaccuzzi.” But, recognizing at all times that these animals are still “wild,” the handlers watch them very closely and they carry a spray for protection in the case of an emergency.
We also met Yotay the Coyote, who interacts with his handler much as a pet dog would. Yotay will make a coyote “howl” upon the request of his handler. Other “sanctuary” animals included a seemingly docile bobcat and a mostly grown racoon. Take a look at the Ranch’s web site. You will see that they also house a number of birds, including a great horned owl and a number of red-tail hawks.
One thing the Ranch’s web site does not do is tell the story of the dedicated people who make the ranch work. We were very impressed by the founders of the ranch, by the team of volunteers, and by the group of certified “animal rehabilitators” who work with the ranch’s patients.
There are lots of these animal rehab centers around the country. You can find some of them on the web. Each is probably backed by a dedicated team of founder/managers, volunteers, experts, and financial supporters. You might be amazed if you check out the center closest to your home. These people deserve lots of support!
