Every Life Matters: Inspiring Stories of Wildlife Rescues and Releases - Hardcover

Kathy Stelford

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 097957160X ISBN 13: 9780979571602

Publisher: EarthAg Consulting, 2007

Synopsis

A juvenile red-tailed hawk was perched above the fawn pen. Watching for lunch or watching for me? That s where you enter the exciting, heartbreaking, and joyous world of wildlife rehabilitation through the inspiring stories of some of the wild animals brought to Oaken Acres Wildlife Center. Author and wildlife rehabilitator Kathy Stelford recounts the misfortunes and victories of 24 of her most memorable patients from rescue, through painstaking care, to triumphant release back to their true homes in the wild. This is no how-to book on wildlife rehabilitation, nor will every wildlife professional agree with some of Kathy s methods, but like everything Kathy undertakes, this book contains her extraordinary heart, the testament of a woman who would let nothing stand between her and her dream to help save injured and orphaned wild animals. From the smallest foundling Slinky, the mink, to the largest gunshot victim Uncle Buck, a 13-point deer, Stelford brings the reader up close and personal into the lives of wild animals that most people never have the privilege to see. Celebrate with Kathy each release and, by the end, be convinced that every life does matter.

About this title

About the Author:

Kathy Stelford moved from the suburbs of Chicago and founded Oaken Acres Wildlife Center in 1984. Since then she has cared for over 7,000 injured or orphaned wild animals on her 33-acre farm in rural Sycamore, Illinois. In 1999, she became the founding president of TAILS Humane Society in DeKalb. She is longstanding member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Northern Illinois University for 18 years, and has served on numerous not-for-profit boards in DeKalb County. She lives at Oaken Acres with her extremely patient husband Mark, two mutts Buddy and Tanzi, three stray cats Mookie, Shemp and Cali, and a host of wildlife that varies by the day.

Review:

"One can't help but be inspired by these moving accounts of individual animals rescued, rehabilitated, and released by the folks at Oaken Acres. It is exciting to see the principles of mercy and compassion put into action and extended to animals who live in the wild. Wildlife rehabilitation is a thoroughly demanding pursuit but a rewarding one, as Kathy Stelford demonstrates with these marvelous vignettes." --Wayne Pacelle, president & CEO, The HSUS

"My dogs decided to emphasize the importance of this heartwarming book. One of our adopted pit bulls, Bella, recently rescued an abandoned baby opossum. She carefully caressed it in her mouth, carried it into the house through the doggie door and laid the orphan at my husband's feet while he was drinking his morning coffee. We sprang into action and drove the infant to our local wildlife rescue. The reality is every county needs an Oaken Acres complete with caring visionaries like Kathy Stafford and compassionate veterinarians. Through these inspiring animal tails the author instills hope for humane communities throughout the land and teaches us that every individual can make a difference." --Ledy VanKavage, Esq., ASPCA Sr. Director of Legal Training & Legislation

"Kathy has given such a deeply heartfelt chronicle of these beautiful beautiful beings." --George Winston, pianist

About this edition

• Publisher: EarthAg Consulting
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 097957160X
• ISBN 13: 9780979571602
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64
• Editor: CLLaw Manuscript Services, Carolyn Law
• Illustrator: Wendy Tritt, Trittenhaus Design