Volunteer Spotlight: Wendy R.
A familiar face here at Volunteers for Wildlife is the lovely Wendy R! Wendy started in the fall of 2014 and she is fully trained on caring for all of our resident animas as well as a vide variety of injured wildlife patients. While she doesn’t have any animals of her own at home, she gets her animal fix by volunteering 2 mornings a week, caring for our residents and patients as well as assisting with the general upkeep of the center. Before coming to Volunteers for Wildlife, Wendy worked in human resources for corporate advertising. After leaving her position, she wanted to find a way to volunteer with animals, and found our organization on the internet. Wendy is glad she found an opportunity so close to home, and we are equally glad to have her here!
For Wendy, it is the variety of responsibilities and time with the animals that make her truly enjoy her time at Volunteers: “Who knew that turtles had personalities and squirrels could be so cute?” Speaking of cute, Wendy is pictured above placing one of our two snapping turtle patients back in his pool. Wendy is always one to take on a new task or jump on an interesting opportunity. For example, she recently observed the necropsy of a Gannet conducted by center supervisor Lauren and was glad for a little taste of science class: “The closest I ever got to science, in the past, was in junior high science class when we had to dissect a frog. I didn’t last very long,” laughed Wendy.
Naturally I had to ask Wendy, who is always in a good mood and ready to work in the morning, what her least favorite part of volunteering is: “The weather certainly influences good days vs. those days you wish you stayed in bed. Rain and snow and frigid temperatures make rounds challenging. I think the animals fare a little better than the volunteers, especially when they are fed. And we do spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing the proper diet for each one,” she explained.
When she’s not at Volunteers for Wildlife, Wendy enjoys travelling with her husband. In her past 2 ½ years of retirement, Wendy has been quite the globetrotter! She has visited Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, France, Martha’s Vineyard and is on her way to Florida in a few weeks. She additionally works on an as needed basis for the Marfan Foundation in Port Washington which strives to bring awareness to Marfan’s syndrome and provide resources. Thank you Wendy for all your help and your always positive attitude!
6 views