If you’re at capacity and unable to help with wildlife in need, what are my alternatives?
- To find another permitted rehabber, visit the Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators list.
- To obtain helpful tips and information for what to do next, Nature Nurse’s Wildlife Rehab and Operation Orphan Wildlife have excellent content on their websites. We do plan to expand our content on this site in the future as well.
- To become a permitted State of Ohio wildlife rehabber yourself, start here.
How come you haven’t called me back?
Franklin’s Friends is a very small operation with one newly permitted category 1 rehabber. She does so on a volunteer, unpaid basis alongside a full-time (yet flexible) job.
As such, it just isn’t possible to return every phone call. Our focus is on quality care for the wildlife we intake and preparing them as best we can to live successfully in their natural habitat once released.
The goal is to expand the breadth and number of mammals we intake once we gain experience. We also plan to expand our education efforts to reach a broader audience.
Everyone has to start somewhere.
Since you’re permitted, don’t you receive State or Federal funding?
No. A permit simply means a rehabber has met the minimum standards of wildlife rehabilitation as set by the State. As of this writing, that includes proper education and facility/housing setup as well as attestation by a licensed vet. It also means allowing State Wildlife Officers to perform inspections of the facility.
In most cases – and in the case of Franklin’s Friends – wildlife rehabilitation is done on a volunteer, unpaid basis.
While we are eligible to apply for grants, most grant money earmarked generically for “animals” tends to go towards domestic animals. It also takes time to apply for grants and even then, there’s typically a waiting period and no guarantee an applicant will be awarded. There are very few facilities with big enough budgets to pay for all it takes to rehab wildlife PLUS compensate rehabbers.
Many rehabbers are juggling their wildlife rehabilitation efforts along with work that “pays the bills.” Any donations received tend to go straight to the animals being rehabilitated (food, cages, supplies) or to supplies that support things like public education about wildlife. Many are also are paying for the work they do straight out of their own pockets.
Wildlife rehabilitation is truly a labor of love.
How can I help Franklin’s Friends?
First of all, thank you! Here are a few ways you can help:
- Monetarily (donations are tax deductible)
- Donate your carpentry skills
- Rehabbed wildlife requires caging and various pre-release housing. For example, each group of squirrels gets a squirrel box in order to give them a “soft release” and help them acclimate to their new homes in the wild. If you’re handy building things, please reach out for plans.
- Donate supplies
- Paper Towels
- Nitrile Gloves – size medium
- Baby receiving blankets – nothing with loops like towels or crocheted blankets
- Thinner wash cloths – they help to pick squirmy little ones up!
- Unflavored Pedialyte
- Unscented Disinfectants (i.e. Bleach, Lysol, Chlorhexidine)
- Offer land for release
- If you have land in Northeast Ohio that is away from lots of people and domestic animals and are willing to allow responsible release of squirrels and/or bunnies on your property, please reach out.
- Donate food
- Clover or dandelion (from unsprayed land)
- Timothy Hay
- Shelled nuts
