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My name is Molly Gallagher and I'm originally from New Jersey.  I currently live in the Town of Bolton on Lake George in New York State.  Lake George is located about 1 hour north of Albany in the Adirondack Park in northern New York State.  I work for the state as an environmental analyst and do volunteer wildlife rehabilitation out of my home.  I've had my license for over ten years.

I had worked for veterinarians through college and for an animal shelter before that but beyond that I had no experience rehabbing when I started.  I got some help from other rehabbers but was often on my own with a few Xeroxed instructions and a helpless critter.

I' m sure the main reason people do rehab is their love of the animals.  It can be absolutely devastating when you lose an animal and exhilarating when you release one.  Every year after being inundated with critters and being completely exhausted physically and emotionally drained I swear I'm going to quit.  Of course when the next call comes I've already forgotten.  Half the time I get in an animal I've never had before and once I get them home I'm asking myself - What have I gotten myself into now?  From slicing and dicing worms for robins, to defrosting mice for possums, to constructing ponds and perches; you just never know what's in store for you next.

There's so much to learn in this kind of work.  I'm no expert in wildlife, I never took any courses on it and can hardly identify my birds or tell you the natural history of an creature but the work forces the learning.  There's nothing like being responsible for the maintenance of a creature to motivate you to learn what it needs.  It's a little like my real job in that I need to know a little bit about everything and am not a specialist in any one thing.

When I first started rehabbing I was in an area with several rehabbers and rabies was just creeping into New York.  I think those two things and the fact that I worked and didn't have an answering machine resulted in me not getting very many calls.  I did get the chance to raise two litters of raccoons before the rabies hit.  Living here in the North Country there aren't too many rehabbers in any one area.  We're pretty spaced out, as is the population.  Plus I've done a lot of outreach.  So I get a lot more calls.  I really hate to turn any away but we all have our time and space limits and we're no good to anyone if we burn out.

One of the best things a rehabber can do to help themselves is to network with other rehabbers in the area.  You can lean on each other for advice, resource and equipment sharing and critter-sitting.  If anyone out there wants to become a rehabilitator but doesn't know where to start I'll be happy to help.  I have started an organization with several friends called North Country Wild Care to help rehabilitators network and raise funds.

My stats since I moved up here
1996    8 critters
1997    16 critters
1998    31 critters
1999    53 critters
2000    76 critters, but with the aid of assistants
 

Well, guess this is how it started.  I was about 13 or 14 . . . way too impressionable!