Wildlife Rehabilitation
Rowena Wildlife Clinic is located near Hood River, The Dalles, Mosier and Cascade Locks, Oregon, across the Columbia River from White Salmon and Stevenson, Washington. We provide free veterinary care to injured wild animals and stray homeless domestic animals. Most of our patients come from the surrounding five counties in Oregon and southern Washington. The Rowena Wildlife Clinic was founded in 2000 and we currently have a small staff, about a dozen dedicated volunteers and one licensed veterinarian.
Why Rehabilitate?
Nature's vicissitudes and the tenuous lives of wild animals would be an abstraction except for the dozens of daily interactions we have with both in our neighborhoods. The constant thrum of a non-human world passes into our lives without remark. But we are frequently moved by the intensity and depth with which animals are immersed in the present. The robin listening to underground worms, the songbirds fluttering hyperactively at a feeder - they are indigenous representatives of the land and air around us. We are enriched by the moments when we glimpse our homes through their eyes. Wildlife rehabilitation is the recognition that our animal neighbors deserve our care. Each benevolent interaction encourages us to tread lightly in our landscape, to change our habits, making it easier for all species to share the planet.
When there is no sky left
big enough
to hold that bird,
let it die.
Then dig my grave close by.
Condor, by Susan Edwards Richmond
from The Dire Elegies
Helping Injured Animals
To help an injured bird or an injured animal, you can take a few simple steps. Often animals are injured by collisions with cars, windows or power lines; tips to minimize those accidents are here.
Veterinary Care for Wildlife
Here you can see actual cases of injured birds and injured animals that have been brought to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic. A common patient here is a bird hit by a car, or a fawn hit by a car. A skunk with a burned face was successfully healed and returned to the wild.
Stray Domestic Animals
Looking for resources to help finding or adopting stray dogs and cats in the Gorge area? We have some suggestions here. There are also pictures of some of our patients: homeless kittens with burned paws and a cat with a broken leg.
Raptor Discovery Program
Injured owls, hawks and eagles may not be able to hunt again after certain injuries. These birds may become part of our Raptor Discovery Program, educating children and adults about these fascinating creatures.
Spotted owl with a radius/ulna fracture, released 2003. Fewer spotted owls are being admitted to rehabilitation centers, perhaps a reflection of their decline in the wild.
Donate to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic
The Rowena Wildlife Clinic is a non-profit organization and one, we believe, well worth your contributions. Various ways to donate to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic are listed here.
To see pictures and stories of our latest patients, please visit our Facebook page.