Large staff walkout at Sacramento animal rehab center leads to increase at Auburn location
SACRAMENTO — Extreme heat affects people and the power grid while also taking a toll on wild animals.
But in Sacramento County, the only wildlife rescue to help distressed wild animals is temporarily closed.
As California sizzles under this broiling heat, cars line up on Patrol Road.
Lisa DeHaven, a Fair Oaks resident, found a young squirrel in her yard.
"It was by our Cypress tree," she said. "It had fallen down, and our dogs had found it, and they were licking it."
Lisa DeHaven took the animal to Wildlife Care Association but arrived to closed doors.
The center is temporarily closed while it tries to hire more people following a recent staff walkout.
Christine Kimbrell had only realized it was not open until she arrived.
Most of the rescuers arrived with young squirrels.
"Initially, I thought it fell out of the tree because it got hot," said Kimbrell of Citrus Heights.
Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in Auburn confirms to CBS13 that it is seeing more animals come in for heat-related stress.
While the Sacramento location is closed, it's accepting distressed animals.
Gold Country has reported that they have more than 500 animals in their care.
So far this week, they have seen 73 patients.
What should you do if you see an animal in trouble?
- Wildlife experts say to keep the animal warm and in a dark and quiet place.
- Call your local wildlife rehab center immediately.
- As tempting as it is, don't offer food or water.
Why? Because a starving animal might not be strong enough to digest food, or you could feed it the wrong diet.
Force-feeding water can wind up in the lungs causing illness and death.