Rescuing injured wildlife requires careful preparation to ensure the safety of both the rescuer and the animal. This informative guide teaches would-be rescuers how to identify an animal in need, capture that animal, and safely transport it to a wildlife rehabilitator. Real-life animal rescue stories provide insight into the triumphs and risks of wildlife rehabilitation.
Peggy grew up in Orwigsburg, a small Pennsylvania town nestled in the picturesque Appalachia Mountains. As far back as she can remember, animals were her passion, which led to careers in pet grooming, dog training, and, of course, wildlife rehabilitation.
In 1989, Peggy pursued her dream of building a wildlife rehabilitation center. She purchased a small home on three acres of ground outside of Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, the current home of Red Creek Wildlife Center. In 1990, Peggy applied for licensing in wildlife rehabilitation and received her permits from the Pennsylvania Game Commission in 1991. In 1992, she received federal approval with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Shortly thereafter, it became obvious that many more animals were aided through educating the people she spoke with on a daily basis than through providing rehabilitation services alone. By 1993, Peggy was a frequent speaker at local schools and scouting groups, sharing her love for wildlife with children and adults. She has since delivered over nine hundred programs to schools, clubs, civic organizations and professional wildlife organizations. Select presentations include: The New Jersey Association of Wildlife Rehabilitators conference at Princeton University, an all-day seminar for the Maryland Wildlife Rehabilitators Association at the Patuxent National Wildlife Center, a seminar on handling public "wildlife in distress calls" for the Pennsylvania Game Commission Dispatchers, and several national and state wildlife conferences.
To continue on her mission of helping wildlife, Peggy wrote "Wildlife Capture and Transport" a privately-published instruction manual for wildlife rehabilitation response personnel, which has been accepted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission as the official state guidelines for people permitted to respond to wildlife emergencies.
Peggy's first general published work, Rescuing Wildlife - A Guide to Helping Injured and Orphaned Animals (Stackpole Books) is now listed at Amazon.com and will be available in bookstores in August of 2009.
Peggy is the current President of the Pennsylvania Association of Wildlife Rehabilitators and a member of the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation and Education Council, an advisory council to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Peggy and her partner, Morrie (Director of Development for Red Creek Wildlife Center, Inc.), share their home with several dogs, parrots, and (of course) the many wild critters who are in their care on both a temporary and a permanent basis.
