Founding Members Share Special Memories

By Jeanie Collins, Cofounder
We really had no idea of what we were getting into when we started Wildlife Rescue, and that was probably a good thing at the time. I guess we thought we'd just feed a few baby birds. Gary Bogue from Lindsay Jr. Museum in Walnut Creek taught us what we needed to know, and Dr. Dave Roos in Los Altos was always there to pick us up and to guide us. They were truly mentors in every sense of the word.

Phyllis Pierce was the first Hummingbird mother, I was the first owl mother, Carol Hamilton took all the "preemie" bird babies, and Jinny Collins and Sue Scott Hons took anything and everything. In between feedings we sat around Phyllis Pierce's kitchen table and agonized over writing bylaws-not an easy task. I remember doing a lot of laughing and a lot of crying . We took the "iffy" ones and we lost a lot of them. Our saving thought was, "What did we learn this time?" We were ingenious in fun ways-we devised carrying baskets that looked like purses, asked for tables next to wall plugs and ordered hot tea (without the bag) to warm squirrel bottles. We also learned that owls collapse in a pile of fluff to rest, baby barn owls learn to scream early on, baby squirrels pee on their food to claim it, birds love to tip over for sunbaths, and one minute is way too long to microwave a frozen mouse.

I will never forget the thrill when we had our first call for volunteers from the community. We had the Baylands building and thought we might get as many as 20 people to help. They had to shut the doors at 150 (all the room allowed) and people stood outside and listened.