City animal rescue centre in urgent need of funds

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This article was published 01/04/2019 (2697 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A LOCAL animal rescue centre is in need of rescuing.

Winnipeg-based Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is seeking money to keep its doors open this spring.

Founder and president Lisa Tretiak is headed to hospital for major surgery in the first week of April, and will be laid up for an extended period. The centre is seeking funding to temporarily replace Tretiak, who is the only full-time employee, even though she is a volunteer.

“There’s no way you can find a volunteer who does everything she does, which includes more than 80 hours a week of work,” said Simone Brandson, the centre’s education co-ordinator and only paid staff member.

The centre is made up of a small band of people, who are dedicated to helping injured and orphaned wildlife. They operate on a shoestring budget. They believe raising $10,000 would be enough to hire a staff member and tide the charity over until Tretiak can get back to full strength.

If it can’t find the money, the centre fears it won’t be able to operate for a big part of its season.

“Lisa actually donates all of her time, all of her strength, to this business. Without her, it’s really hard to keep this place going,” Brandson said. “In the worst-case scenario, we would have to shut down during the spring and summer, or take in the bare minimum of animals.”

The centre cares for 1,300 to 1,600 animals a year, Tretiak said. The majority are birds, but it also takes in small and medium-sized mammals.

“We’re about to hit spring migration and baby season, which is our busiest time of year,” Tretiak said.

Staff members are trained as wildlife rehabilitators, which gives them qualifications a bit like surgical nurses for wildlife, Brandson said. The centre also has veterinarians who volunteer some services and are paid for others.

The centre cares for its charges at a private property just outside St. Adolphe, 30 kilometres south of Winnipeg. It operates out of two converted and permanently parked school buses, using indoor caging donated by veterinarian clinics. It is less active in winter, but staff still takes in some animals and keeps them in their yards at home.

People interested in donating can contact the centre at pwrcentre@gmail.com or go its web page: pwildlife.ca.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca