Where the wild things are: Woman gives herself to rehabilitating injured, orphaned animals

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - Sandra Kapla was horrified when her cat attacked a sparrow. Kapla rescued the bird but it was seriously injured and bleeding.

She took the sparrow to a bird sanctuary in Howell, Mich., more than 30 miles from her home. A few hours later, she was at a Red Lobster in Waterford, Mich., telling the story to her sister.

"They said they would give it some antibiotics and release it the next day," Kapla said.

The waitress stopped.

"I care for wildlife," Sara Klopman said.

Klopman pulled out a business card, showing that she's an animal rehabilitator licensed through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

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The DNR Web site shows that she's among 15 in Oakland County; there are two in Macomb County and two in Wayne County.

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A few weeks later, Kapla ran into Klopman at the Red Lobster again and asked her more about her rescue work.

"You could see the dedication and sincerity in her face and voice," said Kapla, 61, a retired state social work manager. "I've never met anybody like her. I can count on my one hand the people who have impressed me in my life, and she's one of them."

Klopman, 28, invited Kapla to her home in Waterford. There were baby raccoons in one cage, pigeons in another. Klopman was taking care of a groundhog, several cats and countless squirrels.

"The first thing she did was hand me a baby bottle and said, 'You can feed this one here,'" Kapla said. It was a baby raccoon.

"I was so impressed," Kapla said. "She is so happy and does it for free. She had a story for each one of them. I'm thinking, 'Who would do this?'"

Klopman does not receive any money from the DNR for what she does. Kapla started sending $125 every month to help pay for her work. Klopman is grateful but that doesn't come close to covering her expenses. She said that she spends about $15,000 a year in food, medicine and equipment.

"This is out of our own pocket," Klopman said. "We have to put so much into this."

'DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN'

Klopman was raised to love and respect wildlife. "My mother said, 'Do everything you can to help everything you can.'

"It's her fault."

Her mother, Jan Klopman, an operating room nurse, helps take care of the animals. "She's the only one I trust with my wildlife," Sara Klopman said.

Sara Klopman fell into animal rehabilitation by accident, after saving three baby raccoons in 2004. "Somebody shot the mother with a bow and arrow," Klopman said.

She cared for the babies until she turned them over to a rehabilitation expert. At that point, a passion was born.

To earn her license through the DNR, Klopman had to have an affidavit from a veterinarian that she had demonstrated adequate skills in handling injured and orphaned animals. She also had to prove that she had facilities that meet national standards to accommodate them.

Last year, Klopman cared for more than 150 animals including raccoons, grey squirrels, red squirrels, fox squirrels, woodchucks, pigeons and a fox. "It gets to the point where the phone rings and I start crying," Klopman said. "'No, please, God, I can't take anymore.'"

When an animal needs advanced medical care, Klopman takes it to Mark Herne, a veterinarian in Waterford.

"She's really good," Herne said. "She has an instinct for animals and a real severe love for them." When Klopman is short on cash, he lets her pay for his services in installments. He also sells medicine to her at cost. Herne said Klopman should become a veterinarian."

"She loves to learn," he said.

Klopman has a biology degree from Central Michigan University and works as a substitute high school science teacher as well as waitressing. She is licensed to handle small animals. She does not have a permit to work with migratory birds, such as eagles.

"I don't need any more calls," Klopman said.

Last year, she received 500 phone calls for raccoons. Some of the animals were injured, others appeared to be orphaned. "I can pick up a raccoon with my bare hands," Klopman said. "I'm not intimidated by anything, except for maybe people."

GET READY FOR THE BABIES

Klopman lives with her mother in a one-story house. She turned one bedroom into a makeshift laboratory with a microscope, scale and several cages. In the basement, there are cages that house pigeons and a squirrel with a head injury. She is also taking care of a flying squirrel.

"He's very cute," Klopman said. "I'm in love with him."

Someday, she said, she'll release the squirrel: "That's one of the hard things, saying good-bye to your critters. We like to lie to ourselves and say if we don't name them, we won't get attached to them."

Three large cages in the backyard are empty, for now, but they will soon be filled with woodchucks, opossums and raccoons. If this spring is like every other one, she will be incredibly busy. She'll wake up and start feeding babies and clean the cages and before she's done, it will be time to start feeding them again.

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Klopman is single and has little time for a social life. "We are constantly going," Klopman said. "The babies need to eat every three or four hours. I can't go out on a Friday night, if I don't have a baby-sitter."

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REHABILITATORS ONLINE

Sara Klopman's Lotor Rehabilitation organization got its name from the raccoon, whose scientific name is procyon lotor. For more information , go to www.lotorrehab.org.

There are rehabilitation experts scattered across the state. To see a list of rehabilitators licensed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, go to www.michigandnr.com/dlr or call your local DNR office.

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BEST DECISION IS: HANDS OFF

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources prefers that wild animals be left in the wild unless they are visibly injured or, in the case of baby animals, it is clear that the adult has been injured or killed.

The DNR offers several tips for people who find animals and think they are abandoned.

If you find an injured or seemingly abandoned animal, the best thing to do is call the local DNR office or check the DNR Web site for the name and number of the nearest wildlife rehabilitator.

In the spring and summer, it is common for many people to mistakenly think a fawn all alone is abandoned. But the mother is usually nearby.

If you must keep an animal overnight, leave it alone in a secured cardboard box with small holes cut into it. The more you handle or look at a wild animal, the more stressed it will be, reducing its chance for survival.

If you find a cold or featherless or hairless animal, put a heating pad on low underneath half the box. Do not hold the animal to try to warm it. Holding it in your hands will take heat away from it.

Do not give the animal anything to eat or drink, especially cows' milk or lettuce. Many baby mammals are lactose intolerant and may develop diarrhea from cows' milk, and many birds are not adapted to feed on vegetables.

In almost every case, keeping a wild animal any longer than it takes to transfer it to a rehabilitator is illegal.

Wildlife rehabilitation is not the practice of turning a wild animal into a pet. Animals are only held in captivity until they are able to live independently in the wild. Steps are taken by rehabilitators to ensure that a wild animal remains wild. Animals in rehabilitation are not marked or tagged in any way.

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Animals that have injuries or illnesses that prevent them from being returned to the wild are usually euthanized.

Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources

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© 2009, Detroit Free Press.