Wildlife Rescue moves to Parker County
Tuesday, June 12, 2011, Christin Coyne |
Scouts help Rainbow Wildlife Rescue
Friday, March 23, 2012 Christin Coyne |
WEATHERFORD — Birgit Sommer and her husband are excited about plans for their modest home just outside Weatherford city limits.
Sommer, a brand new Weatherford resident, estimates she had about 300 wild animals visiting her Stephenville home last year. |
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Boy Scout Troop 415 of Stephenville volunteered their time March 15 painting a building that houses rescued Coatis, mammals native to Central and South America, at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue, recently relocated just north of Weatherford.
The volunteers also helped build a kennel for educational raccoon "Freddy". |
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Sometimes she cared for as many as 50 or 60 creatures at once, mostly orphaned wildlife babies, through her 501c3 nonprofit Rainbow Wildlife Rescue. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
I found a wild baby animal! Can I keep it?
By Birgit Sommer
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville on May 10, 2010,
but not online anymore therefore available locally) |
Wildlife Rehabilitation
By Birgit Sommer
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville, on February 2, 2010
but not online anymore, therefore available locally) |
A common call received by the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue is, “I have found an abandoned baby or injured wild animal.”
The most common questions asked are, “What do I need to do with it?”, “What can I feed it?” and then the most dreaded question “Can I keep it?” |
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If you came across a wild baby animal that appeared to be orphaned and helpless, would you know what to do?
How to help an injured hawk or owl, raccoon, opossum, rabbit or squirrel? A licensed wildlife rehabilitator is your solution. |
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| That's where my job gets tough because the answers are often not the ones people want to hear. |
A wildlife rehabilitator is a person licensed by the state to take in orphaned and injured wildlife. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Neighborhood Wildlife - The Raccoon
By Birgit Sommer, July 20, 2009, updated May, 2016
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville, on July 20, 2009,
but not online anymore, therefore available locally) |
The Real Facts about Rabies
By Birgit Sommer, updated 6/26/2016
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville, on June 17, 2009
but not online anymore, therefore available locally) |
Most folks in the US have encountered the resourceful raccoon. Coexisting with these intelligent animals is far less demanding once you understand their place in the ecosystem.
Raccoons are medium sized averaging 20 lbs. They are not in the rodent family but rather more closely related to the bear family. |
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Understanding the facts about rabies, as provided in this article, can help prevent the spread of the disease, or even save a life. Getting the facts about rabies is not easy.
Myths and misconceptions are as strong today as they were 4,000 years ago when rabies was first recognized. |
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Found almost anywhere in Texas and throughout the US near bodies of water where food can be foraged, the raccoon is opportunistic and insatiably curious. |
When the average person today thinks about rabies, they typically imagine dogs gone wild, foaming at the mouth, and painful shots. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read full article HERE >>> |
Neighborhood Wildlife - The Opossum
By Birgit Sommer
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville, on March 28, 2009
but not online anymore, therefore available locally) |
Neighborhood Wildlife - The Squirrel
By Birgit Sommer
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville, on February 17, 2009
but not online anymore, therefore available locally) |
Among the mix of local wildlife is an unassuming creature that once roamed with the dinosaurs 70 million years ago.Hard to believe, but the lowly opossum, most commonly encountered as road kill along county roads, is an enigmatic and remarkable animal. |
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Some folks in Erath County may call her a nut, but when it comes to squirrel rescue, Birgit Sommer knows her stuff.
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Knowing their habits and history helps promote a peaceful, mutually beneficial coexistence with these humble and sometimes misunderstood “first citizens” of wildlife. |
As a licensed rehabilitator and founder of Rainbow Wildlife Rescue in Stephenville, Sommer has worked with dozens of squirrels endangered by natural disaster, injury or who have become separated from their parents. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Neighborhood Wildlife - The Cottontail Rabbit
By Birgit Sommer
(published by Empire Tribune, Stephenville, on March 2, 2009
but not online anymore, therefore available locally) |
Locals build ‘homes’ for orphaned squirrels
By Jessica Horton
Published: Tuesday, September 30, 2008, Empire Tribune |
| Most folks living in Erath County have encountered rabbits. Coexisting with these furry, fertile creatures is not difficult once you understand them. The most common rabbit species in Texas is the eastern cottontail, identified by its 2-3 lb. body, brown or gray coat, |
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The gray baby squirrels orphaned by Hurricane Ike now have a cozier place to play - and sleep - while temporarily residing in Erath County. Volunteers spent the better part of Saturday building a mesh enclosure at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue Center in |
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| white belly, and distinctive white tail. They are common in brushy areas from southern Canada to South America. |
Stephenville so the little ones will have room to move around until they can be taken back to the coast. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Honey and Trinity Success Story
By Birgit Sommer
Published: Sunday, April 5, 2009 - Empire Tribune |
Rescuing Animals
By Joyce Whitis
Published: Sunday, May 2, 2008, Empire Tribune |
Not everybody in Erath County knows about the Humane Society Animal Shelter and its adoptable pets.
A few of the people that do know about it have the wrong impression.
They often think of it as dog pound-hell. Maybe after reading the following story of the combined efforts of many people to make happy endings happen, they will change their minds and convince more pet lovers to adopt a pet instead of purchasing one from a pet store or a breeder. |
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Birgit Sommer has been a Stephenville resident since 1991. She was born in Germany and just last month, after passing a test correct answering questions covering U.S. government and history, she took an oath before officials and became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
"It just feels great to become a citizen of this country," Bridget said. "I studied hard in order to pass the test and now I can vote in this important election.". |
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| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>> |
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'Little Miss Doolittle' doing big things for wildlife
By Amanda Kimble
Published: Monday, February 16, 2009 - Empire Tribune |
One woman’s mission, one baby squirrel at a time
By Alex Harmon
Published: Monday, February 16, 2009 - Empire Tribune |
"Little Miss Doolittle" may be grown up,
but she has not outgrown her love of animals.
"I have been an animal lover since birth,"
Birgit Sommer, director of Rainbow Wildlife
Rescue in Stephenville, said Thursday.
"My
grandfather started calling me 'Little Miss
Doolittle' when I was about five years old."
While she has not outgrown the moniker
given to her years ago, Sommer is quickly
outgrowing the rescue's current location, nestled
in the heart of the city in her own backyard. |
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Some folks in Erath County may call her a nut, but when it comes to squirrel rescue, Birgit Sommer knows her stuff.
As a licensed rehabilitator and founder of Rainbow Wildlife Rescue in Stephenville, Sommer has worked with dozens of squirrels endangered by natural disaster, injury or who have become separated from their parents.
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“There are many key mistakes that people make when trying to rescue a baby squirrel and I want to help set the record straight,” Sommer said. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
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Stephenville woman takes in 'squirrely' hurricane...
By Angelia Joiner
Monday, September 22, 2008 |
Leave the Mothering to Nature
By Angelia Joiner,
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 |
| Appropriately nicknamed "Miss Doolittle" when she was just 5 years old, Birgit Sommer is taking in orphans from Hurricane Ike. Not the humand kind. The small, furry kind. Infant gray squirrels were found everywhere after Ike moved through the Houston area, blowing down their nests, and residents were desperate to help them. |
By Angelia Joiner
Abilene Reporter News |
Spring is just around the corner, and as the new season arrives so do the offspring of a variety of wildlife. Kindhearted humands sometimes find -- and try to take in -- young birds, squirrels, fawns or rabbits that appear to be abandoned. |
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| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
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Orphaned squirrels find refuge in Stephenville
By Amanda Kimble
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008, Empire Tribune |
Donations helping baby squirrels left orphaned by Hurricane Ike
By Angelia Joiner -
Sunday, September 28, 2008 |
| When natural disasters strike, a mobilization of relief workers from various agencies such as the Red Cross, National Guard, and FEMA are ready to respond, bringing in food and water, working to restore power, and setting up temporary shelter to assist in returning the disaster zone and the lives of those within it back to normal. Animal rescuers also play a vital role in rehabilitating disaster touched habitats. |
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Several volunteers were busy Saturday building a mesh wire enclosure at the Rainbow Wildlife Rescue center in Stephenville to provide shelter for additional gray squirrels orphaned by Hurricane Ike. Birgit Sommer, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, said members of the Tarleton State University Student Wildlife Society collected $62 in donations |
and are soliciting area businesses for materials needed to build shelters for the squirrels. |
| Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
Read the entire article HERE >>>> |
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