DOUGLAS COUNTY —Kathy Meyer estimates she has taken as many as 3,600 wild rabbits into her Larkspur-area home over the past dozen years in hopes of rehabilitating them and returning them to the wild.
It’s a sad fact that not all of them have made it, but Meyer loves the work. She pays for her activities as a licensed Colorado Wildlife Rehabilitator out of her own pocket, investing hours of effort and often driving long distances to help the long-eared mammals.
She started in 2003 by helping a friend with her home-based wildlife rehab efforts.
“Basically, she was full,” Meyer recalled. “I said, ‘Tell me what to do with the bunnies and I’ll help you.’ I took care of the bunnies she had and I was hooked.”
Meyer, who works as licensed veterinary technician, is among 86 people across Colorado who hold active licenses to possess wild animals for rehabilitation and return to their natural habitats, said Libby Henits, special licensing manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
A on the division’s lists full centers set up to care for all kinds of sick, injured or abandoned animals, and individuals specializing in certain animals. Meyer is one of three names in Douglas County and the only one exclusively for cottontails rabbits and jackrabbits.
While Parks and Wildlife staff members aim to maintain healthy populations of Colorado’s native species, volunteers like Meyer fill a distinct and valuable role, division spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said.
“The public is very supportive of having wildlife rehabilitation available,” Churchill said. “Without these volunteers there wouldn’t be any options.”
Rehabilitators are subject to a detailed . They work under another licensed volunteer for a year before they can set out on their own and must be endorsed by a veterinarian willing to provide care to the animals, Henits said. They also have to have an approved facility to keep the animals.
“It really takes a special person to do it and do it right,” Henits said.
Meeting Meyer was a blessing for a Florida family and a newborn rabbit they found struggling to climb out of a gutter in July.
Alex Stockon and her children Cody, 11, and Domonique, 16, were visiting her parents in Highlands Ranch on Cody’s birthday, July 19, when he spotted the critter. Stockton said her parents were concerned because of recent cases of rabbits, but the family eventually put on gloves and scooped up the bunny they later named George. After caring for George for 48 hours and calling every animal hospital they could find, Stockon was finally put in touch with Meyer. The family met her in Castle Rock and handed off George, who later was successfully released into the wild.
“She has a lot of passion for the animals she takes care of, and I thought it was really great example for my kids to see someone who gives so selflessly,” Stockon said.
“We were sad when we dropped him off because we had been with him for two days, waking up every four hours to feed him,” Cody added. “We had a sentimental attachment but better to give him away and have a better life.”
The Stockons gave Meyer $60 for the self-funded volunteer work. Meyer said she and her fellow rehabilitators appreciate contributions from those that contact them, whether it be money for food and supplies, or simply people personally driving the animals to them so they don’t have to pick them up.
One thing Meyer hopes people keep in mind is that not all animals they see need help.
“The less you touch them, the better off they are,” she said of rabbits. “People want to do good and they want to help, but you can never domesticate any wild animal. You just can’t.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953, jrubino@denverpost.com or twitter.com/RubinoJC
Colorado wildlife rehabilitator
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say the best way to find a qualified wildlife rehabilitator is to call and ask for information at 303-291-7227.
