A couple weeks ago, my boys saw our dog, Daisy toying with a baby bird (a Carolina Wren).  We were able to get the little bird away from Daisy and put it in a bucket.  The little wren looked very scared and like it might have lost a few feathers in the process of meeting Daisy, but we didn’t see any blood.

We called the Aark, a Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Chalfont, PA, and they said they’d be happy to take it.   Our youngest son Daniel (he’s 10) and I (I’m a little older than 10…)hopped in the car and drove as fast as we legally could to the Aark, which is 45 minutes away from where we live.

When we arrived the staff was kind and helpful, and the person who took the wren felt confident it would pull through and be able to be released back into the wild.  Daniel and I were very relieved.

When we walked around the grounds we saw the many birds that were too wounded to make it back though.  The Aark simply takes care of them the rest of their lives.  There were owls with one eye and hawks with damaged wings.  There were even a couple vultures that looked quite glum.  The wounded owls really broke my heart.  There were other birds and animals that the staff didn’t want us to get near because they were going to be reintroduced to the wild soon.  In fact, one of the staff members was putting a hawk into a dog crate and loading it up in her minivan.  It turns out the hawk had fledged too early and fell from the Walt Whitman Bridge!  The AARK staff member, and an ornithologist from a local college, were actually going to put it back in the nest now that they knew it was OK and could fly safely.

I am writing this post to make you aware of the Aark.  Even if you live far away you can donate to their wonderful, wonderful center.  They never turn any animals away!  And they operate purely by donations.  I am including the link to their center and will leave it on my blog as a widget.  Please donate to this worthy cause.  It helps many animals every year.  I am also including three short videos of what Daniel and I saw that day.

Peace and Blessings,

Joseph (and Daniel!)