On any given day and at any hour, the volunteers at Brevard County’s Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary (FWHS) may get a call to rescue a bat, a crane or an otter. It’s hard to say what the next rescue call will be—grackle, opossum, hawk, snake, owl, raccoon, turtle—but if it’s wild and in trouble, volunteers will do everything possible to rescue, rehabilitate and release these animals back to the wild. And it’s all done with donations from people who want to help.

Direct donations of money or items on the wish list (see the website) are always appreciated, and volunteers are always needed. But there’s another fun way to help FWHS. The sanctuary has a collection of Educational Ambassadors that can be symbolically adopted. It’s the perfect gift for that person who doesn’t need another material possession. The animals that can be “adopted” include several birds, a gopher tortoise, a box turtle and a red rat snake. Adoptive parents receive a photograph and biography of their animal, an adoption certificate and a fact sheet about the species. The money from adoptions helps provide food, training, housing and medical care for rescued animals. The Educational Ambassadors will live out their lives at the sanctuary due to injuries that have made it impossible for them to survive in the wild.

Creature Safe Place in Fort Pierce is also working to rescue and return wild animals to their natural habitat. With 10 acres of land, acquired after a generous donation from someone known only as “Sonia,” the sanctuary has space to house animals of all sizes that need temporary care and time to recover. While the focus is on rescuing wild animals for eventual release, the sanctuary does house some domestic animals such as goats and donkeys. These animals will be allowed to live out their lives at the sanctuary.

All animals at Creature Safe Place are kept in such a way that their natural environment is mimicked as closely as possible. Visitors are not allowed, which helps ensure that the animals will be able to be returned to the wild and survive in their natural habitat.

The animals that live at Creature Safe Place can be helped with gifts of time, items and money so that the staff can maintain the enclosures and provide food and medicine. Volunteers with special skills, such as carpenters and contractors, are also needed to update and expand enclosures and habitats within the sanctuary. Additional special assistance requests can be found on the Facebook page, not to mention a whole lot of delightful pictures of the animals that are being cared for at the sanctuary. 

Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary, 321-254-8843. Find ways to help at FWH.WildApricot.org. Follow the action

Creature Safe Place, 4500 McCarty Rd, Fort Pierce. 772-579-0618. CreaturesSafePlaceInc.org. See what’s happening at