Meet the Rehabilitation Center's Team at Pacific Wildlife Care

Meet the Team

Pacific Wildlife Care Staff

Christine Johnson

Executive Director

Shannon Riggs, DVM

Director of Animal Care

Vann Masvidal

Clinic Director +
Volunteer Coordinator

Kathy Duncan

Rehabilitation Technician

Sophie Swan

Rehabilitation Technician

Tabytha Sheeley

Rehabilitation Technician

Pacific Wildlife Care

2 days ago

For this #FreedomFriday, here is a story about the successful release of a Cooper's Hawk... 🙂

Against All Odds

Cooper’s Hawk 1301 had three strikes against her. Most immediate was a fracture to her right tibiotarsus, a bone of the leg, analogous to our shin bone. Our wildlife veterinarian examined the bird, took radiographs, administered medication, and temporarily wrapped and splinted the leg. The bird was found to be otherwise healthy, and surgery was performed the following day to repair the fracture.

Six days later, although favoring the left leg, the bird was bright and alert. Over the next month, she continued improving, and when she was using both legs well graduated to F5, an outdoor aviary.

The second strike against her was a characteristic of her species: Cooper’s Hawks are notoriously high-stress birds in rehabilitation. It was not surprising, then, that she thrashed around furiously in the aviary, leading to broken wing and tail feathers. To survive in the wild, hawks need to be aerial athletes, for which exquisite feather condition and alignment are essential. And hers were a mess. This called for a procedure called “imping.”

An ancient technique passed down from falconers, imping is the implantation of donor feathers (from deceased birds) into the shafts of broken feathers of living birds. It required the skill and experience of our veterinarian, who makes it look easy. (It isn’t.) When she was finished, the bird’s feathers were a thing of beauty. With them, our veterinarian noted the hawk’s flight in the aviary was “fast, evasive, and . . . agile” – exactly as it should be for a Cooper’s Hawk.

The third strike against her was her youth. Because she was injured and brought to PWC as a nestling, she had never learned to hunt for herself.

Therefore, for the final stage in her rehabilitation, she was moved to the property of Jeri Roberts, long-time PWC volunteer and member of the Education Team, where the bird could hone her skills hunting live prey, which isn’t possible at the PWC clinic.

Roberts settled the little hawk in her “most secluded” aviary because “it’s a much calmer environment . . . and keeping her calm was essential to keeping her feathers in good condition for release,” Roberts says.

The hawk enjoyed the “outside ‘birdeo,’ [where] she started and ended her day . . . . She let herself inside to eat and sleep and used the higher part over the sally port to get a good look around” of the wild surroundings.

After less than three weeks, she was ready for a “soft release,” in which food is still left out (in this case, for five days), to give the bird time “to acclimate to her new surroundings” – a transition between aviary life and life in the wild. Although “this species is pretty shy and rarely returns for food,” she did return once, on the second day – before flying high and free, back into the wild.

✍️ Pam Hartmann
📸 Brian Roberts

#WildlifeRelease #Wildlife #CoopersHawk #WildlifeRehab #Raptor #BirdOfPrey #BackToTheWild #HomeSweetHome ... See MoreSee Less

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Great job Jeri!!!!

Thank you. Love Pam Hartmann’s articles.

Thank you for all your efforts!

Pacific Wildlife Care

4 days ago

Thank you to all our amazing supporters who donated towards our #GivingTuesday fundraiser— as well as all our donors throughout the year! The donations we received will greatly help us cover the cost of food, medical supplies, and housing for the countless wildlife patients we receive every year. We could not do this work without you. Thank you for allowing us to keep our doors open and give second chances to wildlife! ... See MoreSee Less

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Pacific Wildlife Care

5 days ago

There is still time left to donate towards our Giving Tuesday fundraiser!
Giving Tuesday only comes once a year, and it’s a day dedicated to giving back to non-profits. In so many ways, this year has been challenging for us all, yet we have admitted into our clinic nearly 2,400 wildlife patients in the midst of added COVID-19 precautions and fewer volunteers.
Today, #GivingTuesday, you can have your donation matched. So, a $50 donation will become $100! (Until all FB matching funds have been exhausted.) Also, if you donate $45 on this Giving Tuesday (or $60 for a family)— that will make you a PWC member! Please then email your mailing address and phone to pacificwildlifecare@gmail.com so we can sign you up.
As SLO County’s only organization committed to treating sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife, you know you can count on us! We are here for wildlife emergencies every day of the year. So on November 30th, while our staff and wildlife veterinarian continue caring for our local wildlife, we hope you will Give a Gift for Wildlife this Giving Tuesday. It costs us about $200 for every patient admitted, so help us finish out this year strong. Every little bit helps.
Thank you to all who have donated so far today....We are GRATEFUL!

#wildlife #wildliferehab #donation #nonprofit ... See MoreSee Less

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Thank you to all who donated on Giving Tuesday---as well as all through the year! Your support gives second chances to wildlife.

Pacific Wildlife Care

6 days ago

This Season, Give a Gift for Wildlife!
Giving Tuesday only comes once a year, and it’s a day dedicated to giving back to non-profits. In so many ways, this year has been challenging for us all, yet we have admitted into our clinic nearly 2,400 wildlife patients in the midst of added COVID-19 precautions and fewer volunteers.
Today, #GivingTuesday, you can have your donation matched. So, a $50 donation will become $100! (Until all FB matching funds have been exhausted.) Also, if you donate $45 on this Giving Tuesday (or $60 for a family)— that will make you a PWC member! Please then email your mailing address and phone to pacificwildlifecare@gmail.com so we can sign you up.
As SLO County’s only organization committed to treating sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife, you know you can count on us! We are here for wildlife emergencies every day of the year. So on November 30th, while our staff and wildlife veterinarian continue caring for our local wildlife, we hope you will Give a Gift for Wildlife this Giving Tuesday. It costs us about $200 for every patient admitted, so help us finish out this year strong. Every little bit helps. Thank you!

#wildlife #wildliferehab #donation #nonprofit ... See MoreSee Less

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Thank you to all who have donated so far today for Giving Tuesday....We are GRATEFUL!

And we are grateful to you 🤎💚

Done!

Pacific Wildlife Care

1 week ago

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Pacific Wildlife Care has much to be grateful for this year. It takes many, many people to make our organization work— from our Board that gives us our goals and guidance, our Executive Director who handles everything from personnel matters to fundraising and public relations, to our veterinarian and staff who maintain the high quality of care received by every patient who comes through our doors. Many thanks to our volunteers who educate the public, staff the hotline, transport animals, do home rehabilitation, manage our website and perform an endless array of tasks at the clinic or wherever they are needed. Their energy and dedication are the backbone of PWC. 2021 has been a difficult year placing extra burdens and risks on everyone at Pacific Wildlife Care but, despite it all, our dedicated team has cared for nearly 2,400 wildlife patients so far this year. We are thankful for our members, supporters, and donors— without you, our doors would be closed to suffering wildlife. Thank you to each and every one of you. This work would be impossible without you!

#thankyou #thanksgiving2021 #pacificwildlifecare #nonprofit #thankful #wildlife #wildliferehab ... See MoreSee Less

Meet the Team

Christine Johnson

Shannon Riggs, DVM

Vann Masvidal

Kathy Duncan

Virginia Flaherty

Sophie Swan

Heather Baer

Tabytha Sheeley