Mags' Story (and Some Note-Worthy Tidbits!)

Hey everyone! Widget here! But it's only me for a minute. Today I'm turning the blog over to a good friend of mine. I'm letting her take the keyboard over for a bit to tell you her story. And, if she does a good enough job and the giant humans like her work, maybe she'll be back to post again someday! Enjoy a few words from my awesome friend Mags!  

Hey guys! My name is Mags and I'm a Great Horned Owl in residence here at Wild At Heart. I've called this place home since March 29th of this year. I was only three weeks old when I got here.

This is going to sound a bit weird, but there's not much I can do about it. My friend, Widget, refers to me as a "she" up there. But the giant humans at Wild At Heart actually don't know, yet, if I'm male or female. Why not? Well, that's a really good question. I've got some identity issues starting to arise so I hope they figure it out soon!

Anyways, like I said before, I was three weeks old when I came to Wild At Heart. I was brought in with severe head wounds from falling out of my nest. And I didn't just fall once. I fell multiple times. How did I keep falling? Different big people kept putting me back in my nest every time. They kept putting me back in the nest until my face was almost unrecognizable...

That's when someone decided it was time to bring me in to Wild At Heart. When I came in, both my eyes were swollen and filled with maggots. There was also a massive, gaping hole in my head. Of course this couldn't go untreated and I was absolutely silent while Sam (one of the giant humans in charge) removed hundreds of maggots from my eye sockets.

Once the yucky maggots were removed, I visited two wonderful veterinarians in the area. Dr. Ingram of All Creatures Animal Clinic in Phoenix was able to close up the top of my head so it wasn't open for the world to see. It's all healed up now! Dr. Urbanz of Eye Care for Animals in Scottsdale took care of my eyes. Even with continuous care for my eyes, I am still blind in my right eye and only partially sighted in my left eye.

I currently live in the Hospital room at Wild At Heart with my stepsister, Juniper (she's an American Kestrel). We love spending our time interacting with the volunteers and visitors that float in and out throughout the day.

Remember how I said earlier that I was totally silent while Sam pulled the maggots out? Well, the reality is I'm still not quite sure how to "hoot" like the other owls. But I still love to carry on long conversations with the volunteers that come to visit me. An owl's got to do something to pass the time!

Wild At Heart will be my forever home. I'm proud to call it my forever home, though, because it provides me with amazing opportunities. I get to be one of their educational birds and help the staff and volunteers teach children and adults everywhere that just because you're a little different doesn't mean you aren't special! The giant humans hope that one day I'll be able to leave the Hospital room and join the rest of their Great Horned Owls in the aviaries!

Now that I've told you my story, I want to give you a few quick tidbits on the place I call home. Remember, I have to do a good job on this so I get to write to all of you again!

First off, Wild At Heart recently closed their Owls and Hawks Story Contest! They had 51 entries and the winner will be announced later this week. That's a lot of stories the judges have to read and we have to give them time to get through them all!

"Holidays are for the Birds" is the theme for the end of year fundraising campaign beginning November 1st. Let's make this a jolly good holiday season for those of us here at Wild At Heart so we can take flight into the New Year!

Those who wish to donate sooner may do so through PayPal, Razoo, or by sponsoring a block on the Wild At Heart Wall. This is a seriously cool option, guys. Check it out. It's a Virtual Supporter Wall online (available through the Wild At Heart Facebook Page). You select a block (hover over them to see the price), upload a picture (of yourself, kids, pets, etc...), type in your name and fill in the rest of the information. When you're done click the "Get This Square" button and complete your purchase information. Then that's it! Your picture is on the Wild At Heart Wall and you've helped to support the giant humans who care for the amazing birds in our facility! These blocks are fantastic gifts for birthdays and the upcoming holidays. If you all chip in to fill the entire Wall you would have raised over $40,000 for Wild At Heart. That's a huge goal, but we have every confidence that you can help us out!

You can also make donations by completing all of your internet searches through a search engine called Goodsearch. This search engine donates money for every search made using their site. They also have other ways to earn money for Wild At Heart through video games and watching videos. Make sure you check out the Goodshop, too, which partners with online retailers to provide funds to organizations!

And there you have it, everyone. My story, the news about Wild At Heart and some awesome ways to help these giant humans continue their very important work with the Arizona native birds!

Give a Hoot and a Holler! We're Calling You!

Season of Giving

Wild At Heart is getting busy, busy, busy! With the holidays right around the corner, we know you are busy, too, but we are hoping that you still remember the reason for the season.

Our facility depends on volunteers and a lot of donations. And now is the time to set up your workplace giving, Combined Federal Campaign, or one time (or more) donations. The giant humans at Wild At Heart would be thrilled if you remembered us and selected us as a recipient for your donation. Honestly, it would mean the world to all of us here and would really go a long ways towards helping the big people continue their work caring for me and my friends.

Story Contest

Wild At Heart is sponsoring their first story contest! Students in grades 4-8 in the Cave Creek, Desert Hills, Anthem area have been invited to participate in a story writing contest. The submission can be fiction, non-fiction or poetry and must feature an Arizona bird of prey. Submissions should be no longer than 500 words and will be judged by Wild At Heart staff members for creativity, use of language and relevance to the theme. Stories should be submitted through the Wild At Heart Facebook Page.

The winner (yay!) of this contest will win a 30-45 minute presentation from Wild At Heart for his/her class. This presentation will include live raptors. The winner will also earn a certificate or recognition and a Wild At Heart T-Shirt.

The contest begins on October 1st and ends on October 19th.

Wild At Heart & the World Wide Web

We're getting fancy over here guys! Wild At Heart is diving into the craziness that is the World Wide Web. That's right, we're learning all about Social Media around here and working hard to understand so we can get the word out about all of the amazing work that goes on at our facility! Wanna help us out? You can start by following this blog, right here! Add us to your favorites and remember to check back with us for updates.

Our Facebook page is still up and running and a great way to keep track of the comings and goings and happenings at Wild At Heart. You can follow us on Facebook by clicking HERE. Bob (giant human in charge) recently decided to challenge us to reach 1,000 "likes" on Facebook by the end of the year, so be sure to spread the word to all of your friends!

Wild At Heart recently joined Twitter. We're still new to the whole idea, so be patient with us- we ARE figuring it out, I promise! You can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE.

And, of course, you can still find us at our original website. That's where you'll find all the information you could ever hope to know about our facility. Seriously, names, addresses, phone numbers and the whole nine yards is up there. Haven't these people heard of personal security on the internet!? Guess not.... Boy have they got a lot to learn... You can check out our website by clicking HERE.