Sunday, June 20, 2010

2 places to know about


Recent visits to two animal-related sites proved to be especially interesting – one, to the Mercer County Wildlife Center, on Rt. 29 in Hopewell Township; the second, to SAVE animal shelter (“A friend to homeless animals”), on Herrontown Road, Princeton.

Their clients are different, yet their missions are related in that both places serve animals. Both sites aim to release the animals they take in to help as quickly as possible – the Wildlife Center aims to re-release into the wild the injured/orphan animals they’ve care for, and SAVE aims to find “forever homes” through adoption of the animals they’ve taken in.

However, it’s not always possible to release every animal. For instance, the bald eagle at the Wildlife Center can no longer fly. A permanent resident, he’s part of the Center’s education program. If a dog or cat at SAVE isn’t adopted, s/he stays there.

Both places depend on donations as well as public awareness and good will. Each has a “wish list” of supplies they’d appreciate, ranging from food to office supplies to paper towels – and always including volunteer hours, of course.

Both facilities are headed by women: the Wildlife Center, by Diane Nickerson, a county employee who has managed it since 1994; and SAVE, by Piper Huggins, who is in her seventh month as executive director.

Future posts will detail both the Wildlife Center and SAVE.
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