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Hi, my name is Molly Gallagher and I am a wildlife rehabilitator located in Warren County in New York State.  This page is to give you some general information on wildlife rehabilitation, show you some of the critters that have crossed my path, give you links to other related pages and my E-mail address if you have questions..

In this picture my friend Sam and I are releasing a pigeon.  The pigeon wasn't quite ready so I brought him back home for bit more cage rest

What is a wildlife rehabilitator?
We're volunteers who care for wildlife that's in trouble, generally either injured or orphaned.  In New York State we are licensed to rehabilitate by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).  This license does not permit us to handle nuisance wildlife.  A Federal license is required to handle migratory birds.  If you live in New York and need to locate a rehabilitator follow this link to find a phone number for the closest DEC office, DEC Regions.
Evenings and weekends there is an emergency dispatch officer who can give you numbers of rehabilitators.
Here you will find a listing of rehabilitators all over the world. Here you can find a New York State rehabilitator.

A word about wild babies.
Probably one of the most frustrating parts of our job is handling wildlife that should not have been picked up in the first place.  Often people assume that babies they find in the wild have been abandoned.  In spring and summer young critters first set out on their own and will naturally be at their most vulnerable. They will often be found seemingly helpless with no parents in sight.

Generally, mother is nearby or off gathering food. Remember, mothers will not return to their young while you are in sight.  Never assume baby birds, bunnies, squirrels or fawns to be orphans unless you know that the mother is dead.  Mothers rarely abandon their babies.  There is no truth to the tale that a mother will not go back to babies that have been handled by humans.  If your child picks up a wild baby or your dog carts one in to the house and it is not injured, do your best to put the baby back where its mother can find it.  A disturbed nest can be put back together and put back in a bush or tree.  Leave the area to allow mom a chance to come back.  Generally a 24 hour period will tell you if the mom will come back.  Try to keep the cat and dog inside for a while.  If the evenings are cold you can bring the little one in for the evening, keeping it warm and in a dark quiet place, and try again the next day.

What if you find wildlife in trouble?
If you do find injured animals or confirmed orphans call the DEC (see above link) if in New York State, or your state's wildlife or environmental agency to get the phone number of the closest rehabilitator.  Often your local veterinarian, animal shelter or police department will also have these numbers.  Keep in mind that there aren't many of us and we all have limitations to our time and space.  We will do our best to help you and give you other numbers to call if we can't.  Do not handle animals that may injure you and never handle raccoons, skunks or bats as these animals are particularly susceptible to rabies.  (Note that this rabies information is specific to Warren County NY and will vary by county, state and country)

Thinking about joining the ranks of rehabbers?
I certainly don't want to scare you off we need as many as we can get - but be warned.  Rehabilitating wild animals can be very heartbreaking.  Most do not survive their first human contact.  And if they live a day or two and then succumb, you go crazy trying to figure out what you've done wrong (if anything).  Be sure you want to put yourself through this before taking the plunge.

And don't underestimate the amount of work just feeding and cleaning cages can be - and the disruption to home and work life - and the costs of food, caging and other equipment.  Sounds awful doesn't?  Well, obviously, there's something compelling about it.  As usual in life, the more risk, the greater reward.

What can you do to help?
Spread the word that there are licensed rehabilitators out there and that wildlife should not be handled by anyone without a license.  Much damage can be done by well meaning people who just don't know what a wild animal needs.  As rehabilitators we have access to training, manuals and other rehabbers who have exprerience dealing with just about anything so even if we don't know what to do we can find out.

Rehabilitators are volunteers who receive no funding from the state.  Donations are greatly appreciated.  We can use monetary donations as well as materials such as towels, pet food, and cage materials such as hardware cloth, lumber and linoleum.

A Special Thanks to . . .
- all the wonderful veterinarians in this area who donate their time and talent to helping us evaluate and care for injured wildlife
- the outstanding rehabilitators who helped me form North Country Wild Care, a dream in the making
- the White family for the donation of a dog kennel, which has since housed herons, hawks, foxes, a loon, and much more
- the Vilmar family for the donation of a small fridge, no more frozen mice in the veggie drawer!
- the McPhee family for the donation of a pet carrier, along with a barred owl!
- Adirondack Builders for the donation of lumber for my first flight cage!
- Curtis Lumber in Glens Falls for a discount on cage materials
- the Warren County Sheriff's Office for the donation of a scale
- to the Peace Pipe in Bolton for the donation of fish for my heron, gull, merganser, etc and all their support
- Southern Adirondack Audubon Society for donations of bird seed
- Up Yonda Farm for volunteering as a release site and offering classroom space for rehab courses
- Lainie Angel for the donation of a freezer
- Karen Sinclair for her generous donations of supplies and funds
- Baker & Baker Construction for the wonderful donation of sheet metal roofing for my outdoor cages!
- all the wonderful people who donate money and supplies to help with my costs and all the people who care enough to take the time to try to help out wildlife in need.

I really appreciate it and could not do the job without you.

My WISH LIST
linoleum or similar material for cage bottoms (easy to clean)
chain link fencing
walk-on scale
scrap lumber, plywood, framing, furring strips, window screen (for caging)
hardware cloth (basic cage material)
leather gloves, police gloves, talon gloves, surgical gloves
heating pads
small incubator
non-frayed towels, blankets
cages and other pet supplies
pet food