A Day In The Life of Fran Kitchen
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 IS NOT TRUE!! How these rumors get started (seems like it happens every year) is unknown. It could be that when you call her number, she doesn’t always pick up and doesn’t have an answer machine. As frustrating as it may be, there is a GOOD REASON for it! To help you understand a little of what Fran’s days are like and why you may have to keep calling to get a hold of her, I am reposting “A Day in the Life of Fran Kitchen”, originally posted back in 2017 with a few updates. Fran’s work is a labor of love and is quite time consuming as you can see.
A DAY IN A LIFE
What many people may not realize is that Operation Orphan is primarily Fran Kitchen. I bring this up because I often get people who don’t understand why it is sometimes hard to get ahold of me or why I don’t have voicemail. Today, I thought it would be a good time to share a glimpse into what a normal day or week looks like for Fran Kitchen.
Most mornings start off as early as 4 a.m. Aside from preparing meals, formula and feeding animals around the clock (baby animals are just like human babies: they need feed every 2-4 hours DAY and NIGHT), my days are chock-full of errands, tasks, shopping and paperwork, not to mention taking care of my own household and eating (yes, I do try to get that into my day! HA!). Here’s a sample of those tasks:
– Answering the phone: Assisting the public and helping get the baby wildlife back with the mother, or if all else fails, have them bring them to me. Note: During my busy seasons I’ve been known to get as many as 150 – 200 calls a day. We have actually had to replace a phone because the ringer wore out! I try to take my last call at 8:00pm. The last couple of hours in the evening before I go to bed are quite busy.
– In-take of orphan and injured animals. With each new arrival, I have to fill out an admission and access each animal. If an animal is dehydrated or hypothermic, I need to deal as quickly as possible with their condition. A cold animal cannot be hydrated or fed until their body temperature is normal. If they need to go to the veterinarian, I get them there.
– Trips to the veterinarian (some days, multiple times).
– Daily cleaning of cages, washing bedding and towels.
– Shopping for food and supplies.
– Filling out reports, other paperwork and the bookkeeping (which I hate).
– Producing the membership newsletter (my baby and something that I love to do).
– Daily caring for the animals which includes: raising, conditioning, releasing, nursing back to health, and therapy for the ones needing it.
– I can’t forget the educational programs that are a big part of what I do. These can take several hours out of my day and if out of town, a whole weekend.
Most of these tasks are time-sensitive and since volunteers have lives of their own, I find it easier to just get the jobs done myself. I do have volunteers that help me with things like setting up and tearing down displays, the baby viewing and on occasion, a fundraiser. Volunteers also help with picking up animals that need to be brought to the facility, except for those that could cause harm or injury to the public, in which case, I will handle. I also get help with my website and Facebook page.
Back to why I don’t have voicemail. As I have already mentioned, I can get hundreds of calls in just one day. When I used to have voicemail, I would spend hours a day listening to the messages and still had to call people back. That took a lot of time away from caring for the animals, which always comes first. It may be a pain to have to keep calling me, but please understand that there is a reason and a method to my madness. I try to educate through our Facebook page as much as possible so you’ll know the RIGHT thing to do when you find an animal you think may need help. There is so much BAD information on the internet! If you click on a photo within our Facebook page, most will take you to information about them. You can also visit our website at: operationorphanwildlife.com, where I have a lot of information as well as alternate contacts if you can’t wait to talk with me.
One other thing: If you can’t get ahold of me, please, please, please, DO NOT LEAVE AN ANIMAL unattended at the facility. Last year I was I was at a program for the weekend and someone left two baby squirrels on the front porch. By the time a friend and volunteer found them, they were cold (babies need warmth to live – For more Information: https://www.operationorphanwildlife.com/learning-…/squirrels/ ). By the time I got to them, one had died. I can’t tell you how heartbreaking that is for me!
I hope this helps give you an idea of what goes on here at Operation Orphan and why it may take a while to get ahold of me.
PS. The only thing I can’t do is provide the financial support of the work done at Operation Orphan. Operation Orphan has been fortunate since 2001, after my husband had a stroke, to be supported completely by the public and program fees. I DO NOT get paid and OOWR DOES NOT receive any federal, state or city funding of any kind. Without monetary and material donations, there would be no Operation Orphan as it is today.
To those that have donated and continue to donate, hold fundraisers for us, and those that have made material donations instead of money, purchased items through Amazon Smile or off our Amazon Wish list, I want to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. It all helps keep Operation Orphan running and helping our wildlife. UPDATE: Last year, sadly was our final year to do displays at Donzell’s Garden Center. We are losing $800 to $1000 a year with that loss. If you are interested in a wildlife program please contact me at 330-745-2947. For an overview of the programs visit our website: https://www.operationorphanwildlife.com/programs/
Copyright 2017 – 2020 Fran Kitchen
