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Goodbye to Spirit Wild

As of September 1, 2009 Spirit Wild closed its doors. For those who need a description of what Spirit Wild did to serve your community, here it is:

Sandi Elliot (whose spirit is as wild as her non-profit’s name implies), began caring for injured wildlife 32 years ago in Plumas County. In 1995 Sandi moved to Lake County, and she officially opened the non-profit, Spirit Wild, in 2000. The center, which was located in Loch Lomond on Cobb Mountain, was maintained 24/7 by Sandie. Please take a moment to attempt to fathom the time and energy that was given freely to care for the amazing wildlife of our area. Imagine never being able to leave your home because there was no one capable to force-feed the Osprey with the mended wing, or the 50 baby birds begging on the hour for their syringe of baby formula (which was hand-made that morning at 5:00 a.m.), or the baby Grebes who have to be floated in a dish of water and taught to catch feeder fish – Sandie committed 32 years of her life to rehabilitating and releasing wildlife.

Sandie earned her Associate Sciences degree from Feather River Community College and her Bachelor of Science degree from UC Davis. Volunteers of Spirit Wild were provided with monthly classes at which they were thoroughly educated on common diseases present in wildlife. Sandie would also lecture to various entities regarding the behavior and requirements detrimental to the survival of our wildlife. Along with caring for the animals, lecturing and training, Sandie managed to put out a great newsletter – always packed full of educational information and funny stories, and always on time.

I was blessed enough to be selected as a volunteer with Spirit Wild for the past 4 years. As a volunteer, I have many memorable moments that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my lifetime. I remember my first training was on reptile rescue and treatment – yep, that means snakes. I was deathly afraid of snakes at the time and walked into a huge conference room full of snakes – boas to rattlers, babies to huge adults. And, I was taught to look at them, determine the species, understand the anatomy, safely capture, and how to put them into a tube and treat them; talk about desensitizing me…

Many of my memories are once-in-a-lifetime, precious moments. Like the time I held a baby otter – holding a baby otter is like holding the cuddliest, softest, warmest, squirmiest kitten you could imagine. Nursing a baby squirrel or chipmunk is also quite a treat; they put their little paws up on the feeder and close their eyes and enjoy their warm milk, then they wiggle and twitch a bit and go back to drinking. Squirrels are surprisingly lovable when they are babies and are quite happy to curl up in your hand or on your lap and sleep there. Another favorite memory is feeding a baby humming bird; it would sit on my hand to take feed from the tip of a syringe. After a bit of drink the tiny little guy would just hover a couple of inches off of my hand for a bit to practice flying. Then, he would sit back down to take some more food; he was no bigger than an acorn. And there is nothing like being in the same space as one of the great birds of prey. I was able to pretend that I was helping as Sandie mended and fed birds such as Golden Eagles, Ospreys, many Hawks and Great and small Owls – there are tricks to handling these majestic birds without being clawed by their incredible talons or bit by their very large and strong beaks. I will treasure all of these memories and I am quite saddened that we will not have Spirit Wild to assist our injured wildlife in the future. The non-profit can only be continued by a qualified person, and none have stepped forward to take Sandie’s place.

If I had no family, if I had no job, if I had the endless amounts of energy required to keep me standing after answering calls and taking in the animals that came in during the night hours while having to get up at 5:00 a.m. to prepare the variety of foods to feed the animals that day, if I had the strength and courage to wrap a full-grown Osprey in a towel and stick a tube down his throat to give him fluids three times a day, if I had the strength to euthanize an animal that was wounded and would recover but not to the point of being able to fend for itself if released – Then I would take over for Sandi as she moves on to have a life for herself. But, I am just not dedicated enough to give up my life so that other wildlife can live. Sandie did this for 32 years and we were blessed to have her in our community. Enjoy your time Sandie.

There are some in our community who have stepped-up to take specific animals. We would like to thank these community members for their time, finances and energy as they are committing to helping our wildlife in the future.

For Small Mammals and Game Birds – Dr. Sally at Clearlake Veterinary Hospital 994-9100

For Deer – Michelle Reid of Clearlake Wildlife Rescue 350-3337

For Snakes, Lizards and Turtles – Greg Frost and Cyndi Diekmann-Frost 994-4457

Department of Fish and Game – 916-358-1300

Posted by Lynnette Bertelli