When I started working with my mentor, I was studying the resources she gave me and one of them offered classes. I asked her if I should subscribe to their website/magazines or take some of the classes. She told me the Basic Rehabilitation class from the IWRC would be an excellent choice for learning. Looking into it, it is an intensive course that is offered both in person and online. I signed up for the online course and received my books and lab kit in the mail. It is recommended to sign up early so you can complete your reading assignments and homework before the class begins. As I started reading, the first thing that jumped out at me was the message, 'A Life of Chronic Pain and Disability is not a 'Life Worth Living'.''
I'm not going to lie. This cut deep. They just described the life I live. I reached out to all my friends, my mentor and my therapist to talk about it. My husband best described it in a way I could be ok with that statement. When I am suffering and none of the things I have at home can give me any relief, I can run to my physical therapist or my Dr or the pharmacy and find relief. An animal in the wild doesn't have those options.
One of the hardest decisions a rehabber has to make is whether or not to try to save an animal. In fact, euthanasia is one of the leading causes of burn out in the field. There are situations with wild animals where they would be non-releasable, unable to survive on their own in the wild. Then you have to decide, could they live out a fulfilling life in captivity? We've all seen animals in zoos or in captivity trained for entertainment purposes who are depressed and seem to have lost their will to keep going. While that is true for many wild animals, there are some who are perfectly happy living a "domesticated" life.
Squirrels, being of the Rodentia family, are one of those animals. In fact, as I discussed my feelings with my mentor, she agreed with me and even said, with my educational background as a former teacher, I would be a shoe-in for an Educator's License, should I come across a situation like that. In fact, if I were to save one with a nurturing instinct, they could be a great help in a rehabilitation setting. There would be an outdoor enclosure for "recess" where they could enjoy the outdoors, but in a safe environment free from predators. They could foster new babies that arrive at the facility and help teach them natural behaviors. They could still have a "purpose" and get to live out their lives with value.
Even a licensed rehabilitation center, in most states, cannot just decide to keep a squirrel. If you haven't already read my Education Page, I highly recommend you do so. If you have any feelings about the information above, feel free to comment or contact me.
