San Diego Humane Society's Project Wildlife — Attraction in San Diego

Opossum Orphan 20160504 Submitted little Pogo to Project Wildlife, attendant Katie provided intake assistance. 20160502 After seeking treatment from the neurology personnel at the VASD La Jolla facility, I visited the Project Wildlife facility. Surveyed the intake area, read available literature & posted information. Met an attendant named John. We conversed about Pogo getting further care under their auspices. After the brief time I’ve had Pogo he has gained strength & displayed physical characteristics, such as testicles & developing a scrotum. He’s been comfortable with me & appreciates company, eats nearly everything provided, & enjoys rest after exercising by climbing over my hands. 20160501 Hello, I've already contacted PW (along with a group called the Opossum Society) about an orphan opossum that was found, but there has been no response. I've cared for the critter since the evening of 20160427. The little pooper is barely 9 cm long body length. I have no vehicle so travel is an obstacle, but would it be possible for a PW agent to visit my residence? 3672 Georgia Street, C4, San Diego, CA, 92103. I have no experience assessing the wee timorous beastie's condition but likely barely weaned & getting lonely. He is surprisingly strong despite possible nutrition issues but improved from the gaunt appearance when found; I am concerned about his apparent indifference to drinking water by the different means that I’ve provided. I should have examined this earlier but I’ve noticed an insect crawling on his skin, so I tried grooming him & gave a warm water bath. I also outfitted the terrarium with a branch that has provided him an opportunity for exercise along with motivation toward overcoming the challenge of escaping his comfortable confinement. Regardless of any response, I'll try getting to your facility tomorrow either pedestrian mode or using a bicycle. 20160428 Project Wildlife Hello, last night I rescued a seemingly orphaned opossum that was trundling along the middle of the road. The body of the critter is barely 10 cm long & appears rather gaunt. I've felt its body for injuries & condition but did not record the weight. Fortunately I had a terrarium that provided shelter. Although I have a good idea about the type of diet befitting the mature omnivore, I wasn't sure about the critter's development & would guess that this one has barely been weaned. I saw teeth but looks barely weaned; have some food available (granola, fruit, nuts, ...) it may possibly consume but may have additives, mostly sugar & salt, that would adversely affect the little stinker (including other issues for avoiding bovine milk such as enzymes & other inter-species intolerance). The critter is not aggressive or threatened, but stressed from fatigue, hunger, fright, & loneliness. After some rest & food, by next morning the critter did escape the terrarium using innate ability provided by that prehensile tail while performing a handstand along with my inadvertent assistance from a bag I had emplaced as a shelter but provided necessary elevation to surmount the enclosure. Unsure about any other characteristics as the belly is mostly pink without any gender distinctions. I have considered surveying the area for the parent but likely futile since I’ve never noticed any opossum habitat indications during my 15 years of residence. Although I reside along the fringe of an urban park, I have never seen any opossum present. Any response would be appreciated. 20160427 @ ~2200 Upon my return from Smart & Final Extra for foodstuff, I found a wee timorous beastie waddling along Crestwood Place. Took in an orphaned opossum that appeared rather gaunt & frightened. Placed the critter in a terrarium lined with paper & shredded bits, along with a warm bed of silk (from my...

If you find an injured animal and are capable of caring for it yourself—PLEASE DO IT. Don’t take it to this place. You may think you're helping, but in reality, you might be delivering it straight to its death.

We brought in a baby rabbit, hoping to give it a chance. Instead, they euthanized the next day, citing "the nature of the injuries." I’m 100% convinced that if we had kept him, he would still be alive today. He was alert, breathing, and calm for a while before we took him in but we rhofub they would know better than us how to help him and increase his chances of getting better. We believed we were doing the right thing. Instead, we unknowingly handed him over to a cold, clinical system that doesn’t see a life—it sees a procedure.

The people there may be trained, but they are not emotionally invested. To them, it’s a job. They aren’t thinking about hope or second chances—only policies and convenience. And if euthanasia is the quickest path, they’ll take it.

They didn’t even offer us the option to take the rabbit back and let nature decide his fate. If he truly wasn’t going to make it, I would rather he had passed away in his natural habitat maybe even taken by a predator—because at least that would have been natural. Instead, his life ended in a hospital by force.

This place feels the exact opposite of what it should be. There’s nothing humane or rehabilitative about what happened. Even though "it was just a bunny" I will never forget this—and never repeat.

Let my heartbreak be a warning: If you can help an injured animal yourself, please do. Their chances are better with someone WHO REALLY CARES! RIP little...

Yesterday we had a tender learning lesson. One of our many baby hummies was seemingly too excited when he flew right into our back window. It’s not the first time we’ve heard it happen—but it was the first time we saw one get seriously hurt. Josh found our little buddy on the ground, looking dazed and disoriented. He tried to flap his wings, but he just didn’t have the energy to fly away. He was clearly very hurt. We approached him slowly, managed to get him in a small box lined with a towel. He let us gently pet him, and thankfully he gained our trust and saw we meant him no harm. He took a few sips of water, but we could tell he needed professional help. We’re so thankful the local @sdhumanesociety has Project Wildlife where they’ll nurse injured animals back to health, including hummingbirds! So off we went, on a short roadtrip with my lil’ buddy. Surprisingly, he was so calm the entire drive there. Here I was thinking ‘this bird is about to start flying around inside the car while I’m driving.’ Our champ is now in good hands, getting the expert care he needs, and once he’s better the Humane Society will release him into the wild within a very close radius of where they got hurt. Since most hummies are territorial, for survival it’s best to bring them back to their original home. Thank you SD Humane Society in Linda Vista for serving our community in such a...