this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2026
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I mean, you offered me everything I might need. In this case, saying less wouldn’t have been anywhere near as helpful. I was curious about one thing, invertebrates in the rehab you visit. Are we talking bugs, shellfish, cnidarians, etc. whom are on the mend, or are we talking feed worms?
And given the yearly ebb and flow you described, I might already be out of the running?
Yeah, I don't think anyone will be taking volunteers now. Round 2 of squirrels is coming in now, but there won't be many more birds or most other animals, mainly random incident injuries and caring for long term patients. But winter will be here soon, and then so will new recruiting opportunities.
You can always check out videos on how to feed squirrel/birds/bunnies, follow some rescues to see what they do if you have mainstream social media, or just keep following the things I post and asking questions.
As for invertebrates, I can't think of many we've had a long time. They do repair butterfly wings, that's what comes to mind first. We also have roaches in the education center, and we breed mealworms to feed the songbirds and probably some other guys. Some more coastal or river areas may have mollusks or larger snail they may work on, but they'd have to be things that had at least a somewhat longer lifespan I'd guess. I did have a post about a dragonfly getting anesthesia so it could have adhesive removed from its wings the other day though, so that could be another example.
I immediately went and checked out the dragonfly. Frankly, it’s incredibly funny to me that this tiny little predator was hotboxed into cooperation.
And I’ll probably just follow you for now. After scanning through your posts, I’ve learned that I do not know enough to ask anything further. Eventually, I hope to be able to speak to you as a novice, rather than as a blank slate!
We get patients to cooperate one way or another! 😜
Friend, I've made over 3500 owl posts, sharing things every day for 3 years, and I still know squat compared to what they have to learn about. When I started, I knew like 4 kinds of owls and elementary school level trivia about them. We all start from scratch at some point in our journey. Most of my posts are me sharing what I'm learning at the moment.
If you're still interested in a few months, at least check out the volunteer meeting for your local spot or look for them if they do local public events. You can meet some of the people and animals and they can help you see if it's something you want to try.
Otherwise, just keep checking in and I usually have at least 3 posts a day. Even if it's a just-for-fun post, you can always ask me what's going on with the behavior or what not.
I’ll try it out! And I’ve saved your comment. If I see anyone else curious about volunteering, I’ll offer them information from the horse’s rehabber’s mouth. (I’m aware you don’t rehab horses, I’m just goofin)
It does genuinely seem like something I’d like to try, and I hope that the information I’ll glean from your posts might make my first days there a little easier! Already have a rehab and a date to check things out!
Wonderful! I'm always here to help whenever I can.
We do sort of have 2 horses, but they are the owner's personal rescue adoption animals, they are not part of the clinic but they live there since the owner lives on the property.
Do you guys ever get to say hello to them? This feels almost like a mechanic with project cars hanging out just outside
Their barn and pasture is right smack in the center of everything, so we see them all day. I forget if I've ever got to pet them. I may have gotten to scratch one's nose once, but they never seemed much interested in me. I believe they are pretty old, and are just there to enjoy their retirement.
That is so precious!! If I end up with any similar (non-identifiable) stories, I’ll try to post them for you!
I'm looking forward to it!