If you have an orphan or uninjured animal please call me directly at 330-745-2947 as I DO NOT MONITOR FB messages on a regular basis and I don’t want an animal in need to suffer. NOTE: I do not have an answering machine because we get so many calls that I am unable to return…
Dear Friends, Due to all the storms this past week it has been crazy with all of the squirrel babies that have come in. They range from less than 1 week old to right at 5 weeks old. To say I am swimming in them is an understatement! Because I have so many that are…
Hello Friends! Just wanted everyone to know I am feeling much better (thank you for all the well wishes) and have re-opened. As always, If you have an orphan or uninjured animal please call me directly at 330-745-2947 as I DO NOT MONITOR FB messages on a regular basis and I don’t want an animal…
During my absence, you can find other rehabilitators by visiting the Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators website at: http://owra.org/ to find someone who can help you. If the animal is injured, you can also seek out help from Metropolitan Vet Hospital for sick and injured wildlife. https://www.metropolitanvet.com/. Educating the public about wildlife is an important part of…
The baby Beaver that was brought into us in July (see brief history below) has grown a lot over the winter! Our photographer, Dana Giron, showed up at dinner time last week, and was able to capture him holding one of his favorite vegetables, corn on the cob🌽… which he later stashed in his house,…
In 2019 Fran took in OVER 900 animals. She currently takes care of three counties, Portage, Wayne and her own county, Summit. You may have seen the notice we posted last week that there was a rumor going around that Fran was dead, had cancer and not taking in wildlife anymore. As we mentioned, THIS…
One warm fall afternoon, I went out to get the mail. As I looked down the street, I saw a little puppy running right down the center of Waterloo road. With the traffic that comes down this main road, I knew if I didn’t do something he was going to get hit by a car. …
This week we thought you would enjoy seeing photos (and narration) from a rescue that took place back in August of 2016. It was a day when the temps hit the high 90’s, and Fran donned long pants and a flannel jacket after a home owner called Operation Orphan about a young, Blue Heron that…
These two baby Screech Owls were brought into Operation Orphan this week. They were found on a median strip and had possibly been blown from the nest in high winds during the storms we have had. Approximately five weeks old, the larger one was not in as good condition as the smaller one. Copyright 2018…
I would like to give a shout out and thank you to Donzell’s Garden Center for all their support throughout the years. It’s one of our favorite places to put on a display because we get so many people that come out, not only see the animals but to learn about how to co-exist with…
On behalf of Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation, I would like to thank Cristina Filippelli for her recent donation of items that we use. Chewy the puppy was not one of her donations. She just wanted in the photo. HA! REMINDER: For anyone interested, please come visit us this weekend at Donzell’s Garden Center from 11:00…
It is that time of year once again: BABY SEASON It is that time of year once again when may you see a baby animal in the wild all by itself, and your first thought may be that the baby is an orphan. However, at least 85% of baby animals seen by humans are not…
I would like to thank Cheryl Krucek for the donation of Pedialyte and Clean and Cozy Bedding made to Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation from our Amazon Smile wish list. In case anyone is interested, here’s our wish list link: Amazon: http://a.co/5CqviY4 Copyright 2018 Fran Kitchen Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization…
We have a new education bird here at Operation Orphan; his name is Bartholomew and he is a Barred Owl. Bartholomew got his name from the women that found him found on the side of the road in Mogadore, Ohio. He had been struck by a vehicle and his shoulder was shattered. The repair was…
I would like to thank Karisa Bethune-Zinsmayer for the donation of Force Flex trash bags and one dozen towels to Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation. I use A LOT of towels. They are used to put on the bottom of the bins that baby animals are in, to wrap around the snuggle-safe heat source for the…
WOW! I am borderline speechless. Six packages were delivered today. Thank you very much Melissa Hornak, Janet Neubert, Julia Passmore. We also had a couple items delivered that did not have a names included. Thank you to everyone that has been sending items to help Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. Your donations really do make…
I received three bottles of Flys-Off and a bag of cracked corn over the weekend. Thank you Melissa Hornak–this is a BIG HELP! Without Flys-Off, it would be very easy to have a parasite problem. Flys-Off allows me to safely get parasites off of the mammals. Without it, the fleas would get out of control. …
On behalf of Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc., I would like to thank Kimberly Boone for her recent purchase of Pedialyte from Amazon Smile. The four bottles of Electrolyte Solution arrived today. Often the babies are dehydrated when brought into the facility, so this will definitely get used! Donations do make a difference. Thank you…
Thank you Ed and Nancy Irving for the two large bags of Aspan wood chips. That will be a BIG help when waterfowl begin to come in. In case you didn’t read my last post, BABY SEASON has started! We now have four baby squirrel that are no more than 10 days old and two…
Early this morning, these baby squirrels (approx 9 days old) arrived at OOWR today. These babies have to get warm before they can be fed. Their nest came down in the wind. Mom took two (which means she had a bigger than normal litter); she did not return for the remaining four. – Fran Copyright…
My days normally begin between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. My routine is to put the dogs out, get my first cup of coffee (if it is baby season I feed babies as I drink my first cup of coffee) and then let the dogs back in the house. I like, when able, to take that…
I was sent a boxful (17 to be exact!) of these cute mini hats that were knitted specifically for baby wildlife. The group, Cuyahoga Falls Knit and Hook, made these to be used as “nests” for the baby wildlife such as bunnies and squirrel. These are going to be WONDERFUL as baby season will be…
Let me introduce you to the latest member of our pack. Jasmine is 16 weeks old and is full of energy! She will be going on some of my programs to help teach children that there is a big difference between domestic animals and wild animals. We got Jasmine from a young man that is…
It is with a heavy heart that I report that Godzilla, our educational Great Horned Owl, had to be put down. She was in her 20s and was an amazing education bird. Godzilla had spent ten years at another facility before being transferred to Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation. She was in our care for eleven…
Today I would like to share with you a special Christmas Memory that I think many of you will enjoy. It’s about Stubby, our first educational groundhog and one that I think about every Christmas season. Earlier in the spring of this particular year, a farmer was working with a backhoe when he accidentally dug…
Almost everyone likes surprises—to some degree or another. On the other hand, some are better if they never happen. This type of surprise is true of the story I am about to tell. One November evening, I was doing a program at a local assisted living facility. When the program was completed, a couple of…
It was Easter Sunday when the call came in about two baby Great Horned Owls. One baby was injured, but the other seemed all right. The woman who called said she had watched for several hours to see if a mother came in to care for the young and it was clear that no parent…
I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: 85% of the baby animals picked up ARE NOT ORPHANED and should have been LEFT ALONE. Mom usually is not far away. Below are some of the most common things that people DO WRONG when they find an animal and what’s THE RIGHT thing…
That’s what it is like here at Operation Orphan these days. Add some opossum and 25 baby squirrels that just came in this week. Did I mention that they all need to be handfed? Yes, folks, baby season is NOT over yet! With no time to write a TBT this week, I want to repost…
Every day, I am reminded of the harshness of nature and what our wildlife has to endure to survive. Today’s story will give you a glimpse into their world. It was around 10:00 pm last summer when the phone rang and on the other end of the phone was a very distraught woman. In the…