The Latest at Wild At Heart

Hey guys! It's been a really long time since I last wrote and there's a crazy number of things I need to update you on. No joke, the giant humans have been bugging me to get this going for a while. Why hasn't it happened? Well, I'm little. And you can only expect so much of little me. And I'm cute, so I get away with it pretty easily!

Pig Rescue

Yup, you read that right. If you haven't read about it yet, fly on over and read all about our Great Pig Rescue! Then fly back over here to read the news on Lulu (she's the pig we rescued a few weeks ago).

Sam, one of the giant humans in charge, got an email from Lulu's "mom" not too long ago and she wants me to share some of her story with you all. Lulu came to a family who had never before considered having a pet because of allergies. But when a friend came by with their pet pig, they learned that pigs have hair and are, therefore, hypoallergenic. Basically there's no sneezing, coughing or watery eyes attached to loving a pig. Win! So after a considerable amount of begging and pleading by his children, Lulu's "dad" broke down and got Lulu for "mom" as a present about two years ago. Yay for an adorable little piggy!

Being a social animal, Lulu just LOVES to be around people. So, naturally, one of her favorite places to go is the park! She loves to run with the people and has even plucked up the courage to sort of "bark" when she's heavily involved in playing with the humans. Since being lost, and then found and returned home, Lulu has been thoroughly loved and hugged by her human family. And, being part of the family, she's even been able to join them for a treat! Apparently she is rather fond of vanilla ice cream!

Bird Release

Wild At Heart is pleased to announce that they have had many, many bird releases happening lately! They've recently released four Kestrels near the Dixileta and 62nd street intersection by volunteer Yvette's residence. They've also released more than 20 Barn Owls northeast of Wickenburg, and three Great Horned Owls were released in the Seven Springs area, which is an hour north of Cave Creek.

Around the Aviaries

I've mentioned before that we have some seriously awesome volunteers. One of them is Yvette Molina. She was helping out around the aviaries not too long ago, cleaning and just basically being awesome when one of my friends decided to mess with her. Tafi (a Harris Hawk foster parent) decided she wanted Yvette's hat and stole it right off her head! And then she kept it away from Yvette for ten minutes before she decided she was bored and gave it back! Silly bird...

Cowboy Muri and Bob

Cowboy Muri, in his red bandana (I'm jealous...), got to take a field trip! Cowboy Muri is a Western Screech owl and he and Bob were featured presenters at the last Cave Creek town council meeting. This was a big meeting. Cave Creek challenged Scottsdale at this meeting for the title of the Wests most Western Town! It was so big that Bob was even quoted in the Foothills Focus and the NY Times!

Bird Handling Class

Wild At Heart hosted a bird handling and capture class for Peoria Animal Control and two of our rescue and transport volunteers. Volunteers and animal control officers learned how to safely capture and handle an injured raptor.  If you look closely in the upper right hand corner of the second picture you will see that Mags (one of our Great Horned Owls) was very interested in learning too!

Desert Foothills Key Club

The students of the Desert Foothills Key Club came to Wild At Heart to learn about the raptors and lend a helping hand. "Desert Foothills Key Club is a student led organization which provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character, and develop leadership." Basically it's a group of kids doing awesome things in the community because they want to live in an awesome place! And the kids? Well, they're awesome!

And there you have it. The big happenings here at Wild At Heart! Stay classy my bird-friendly friends and keep your eye out for my fellow flying friends!

The Great Pig Rescue! Wait. What??

Alright, alright. We've got a different sort of rescue to talk about today. And let me tell you, it's not anything like we usually deal with around here...   First things first. Wild At Heart is a bird rescue. Got it? Bird. Rescue. We have small birds and large birds and all sizes in between. But we do birds.   Until now.   Mr. Bob (giant human in charge #1) was away the other day. He'd been sent on an errand. The facility was in need of more supplies so the boss man went out to pick them all up. Everything was well and good here, so no one thought anything of it. It's not like it was the first time he'd been away, so who would have thought it would be an issue? No one. Not me. And especially not Sam (giant human in charge #2).   While Bob is away, though, (an hour and a half away, I might add!) Sam gets an unusual call. For some reason no one else would answer the phones when they were called except Wild At Heart. Go Sam!   Anyways. Sam got a call from a frantic human. There was a pot-bellied pig. On the side of a very busy road. Near a community center. In an area where the coyotes live. Oh boy. What do we do?   Well, being the animal lovers we are around here, of course Sam hopped on the phone and begun hunting down someone to go hunt down the pig. Bob was still far away. Yvette, Wendy and Donny were unavailable. Luckily she was able to get in touch with a couple of awesome volunteers, Rachelle and Ian. They happen to live in the area where the poor pig was last seen and went out in search of it.   Well, they found it. But quickly realized that the small kennel they had brought with them was too small. Who would have thought that it would be too small? Pot-bellied pigs are supposed to be little, right?   They gave Bob a call. He'd made it back into town and immediately set out with his large kennel. Little did they know that his large kennel still wouldn't be large enough for this pig. Again, aren't pot-bellied pigs supposed to be little!?   After a few minutes of scrambling and a desperate call to Sam asking what they should do, they found a solution. What was it? A comforter. And some fruits and vegetables. How did it work? They laid out the comforter, placed the food in the middle of it and when the pig went after the food, they hoisted her up into the backseat of Bob's truck.

Now what? Sam suggested that Bob take the traumatized pig to a friends nearby barn. Once they made it to Tavia's barn, though, the pig wouldn't move. She was comfortable. Her little cave in Mr. Bob's truck was just the spot for her. She was perfectly content to just sit in the backseat of the truck all day long. But that just wouldn't work.

They tried everything they could. They made a sort of ramp out of straw bales for the pig to walk down. They tried coaxing the pig out of the truck with more food. But she just wouldn't budge. That was her spot and she wasn't giving it up. Mr. Bob had had enough at that point and finally goosed the pig! Up and out she went!   A few hours later Sam received a call at Wild At Heart. The caller was the pig's owners and they were anxious to be re-united with their baby. A meeting was arranged at Tavia's barn and Lulu was sent happily on her way with her family. They were so thankful to Wild At Heart for helping even though it was an odd rescue for our people.

Unfortunately for Bob and Sam, the day wasn't over yet. You see, most of the residents at Wild At Heart are owls. Which means we are mostly awake at night. So anything that needs to be done with us usually has to be done after dark. What does that mean? Some really long nights for Sam and Bob. They hardly ever get to bed before 2am, and that night was no different. Except that they got a call at 3:30am for a barn owl that had been hit by a car. Wild At Heart is the only rescue to answer the phone in person at any hour, day or night.   So off Bob went to rescue the poor barn owl. He returned around 7:45 that morning and wrapped the fractured wing.   Most people would have gone straight to bed after that. But not Bob. He and Sam were up and at it for a full day of work!   I just love those giant humans and their dedication to us!