THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503210147
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SHARON LaROWE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 151 lines
MOVE OVER, NOAH, you have some friendly competition.
Becky Wallace lives in a quiet, family neighborhood in Bayview. It's a place where many young couples live and are raising their children, the dog and cat, and they all grow old together. But the Wallace family is an exception.
Only the animal carriers stacked on the front porch and the occasional cat rolling in the driveway indicate what lies behind the Wallaces' 8-foot-high wooden fence.
Wallace, a short and spunky 41-year-old, has three kids of her own and a foster child, but she just couldn't stop at one cat and one dog.
A federal and state licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Wallace runs a tight, efficient household. She has to or her squirrels, ducks, rabbits, sea gulls, cats, guinea pigs, dogs and woodpeckers would run her.
``It's crazy. I don't know who listens worse - kids or dogs,'' she said as she shouted to her son and chased the dogs back into the yard.
Although her reins may be tight, her heart is soft.
``My mother always said that if I found an elephant on the street, I'd bring him home. That's her favorite phrase.''
One of the few licensed rehabilitators in Norfolk, Wallace never turns down an animal that needs help.
``I never say no,'' she said. ``You can't. . . . If I didn't take the animals, who would?''
For Wallace, the rehabilitation of animals is an adventure.
The key is flexibility. Her husband, Gary, a supervisor with Virginia Power, ``never knows what to expect when he gets home.''
She has housed and nursed every kind of small animal, from a boa constrictor to a pelican to a monitor lizard.
And rehabilitation is not a job, at least not a paying one.
``It's a hobby more than anything because there's certainly no money in it,'' she said.
In fact, this ``hobby'' costs her money.
Treatment for sick animals comes at a staggering price. One can of squirrel formula can cost $11. A bag of mealworms is $25.
And the number of animals she cares for seems unmanageable. There are never exact numbers on the birds and wildlife she tends, but Wallace released at least 150 animals last summer back into their natural habitat. At least 75 percent of those were birds.
Every 15 to 30 minutes, she scurries into the den to drop soggy dog food down crying baby birds' mouths.
To help defray the huge expense, Wallace tackles neighbors' lawns with a mower and delivers newspapers.
And she is grateful for all the help she can get. The Norfolk SPCA and Animal Control provides euthanasia for untreatable animals, as well as transporting treatable animals to her home. A neighbor leaves dinner leftovers on her porch, and a local fisherman brings fish for her hurt sea gulls.
Wallace could always use more bags of dog food, baby receiving blankets, aquariums and animal cages.
Even though the Wallace household is Animal Kingdom realized, one thing she insists on is a clean house.
``People think they're going to come in to a zoo'' when they visit her home, expecting to see animal cages scattered about and feathers floating through the air.
``But it's not,'' she said emphatically. ``I have to live here, too.''
What visitors find are antiques, lace doilies and flowers.
The animals stay in the converted garage and the back yard.
Bonnie, Wallace's pixie chihuahua, is ``the only thing allowed in the house with four legs.''
Even with a diverse mix of wildlife staying in close quarters, there are few animal skirmishes.
``It's Noah's Ark,'' she said, her dark eyes lighting up in amusement. ``Some mornings I just get up and say, `Look at this. These guys are all getting along.' '' MEMO: SOME TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN HELP WILD ANIMALS
In addition to caring for her four children, keeping her home in
tip-top shape, healing the myriad of small animals that come in at all
hours of the day and night and delivering newspapers and mowing lawns to
pay for their care, Becky Wallace plays the part of rehabilitation
educator when people don't know what to do with injured or sick
animals.
``People mean well,'' she said, but they don't always follow the
correct procedure in caring for wounded wildlife.
These are some tips on how to avoid endangering a wild animal's
life:
Keep wildlife wild. ``These animals are not pets,'' Wallace warns.
``The object is to raise them wild and get them out in their natural
habitat as soon as possible.''
That's why you won't catch Wallace using baby talk or cute voices
with any animal she helps. She doesn't want to leave her ``imprint'' on
them. A baby animal may think Wallace is its mother. Worse yet, the
animal may learn to trust humans, and the next contact it has with a
human or a car may be its last.
``When you pick up a stray bird or mammal, don't kiss on it and
cuddle it,'' Wallace warns. She tells of a woman who found a wounded
pigeon recently and called her for help. When Wallace arrived, the woman
persisted in cuddling the animal and ``rolling it all over her,''
Wallace said, joking that when she inspected the bird later, its
feathers were full of lice. Mites, fleas, lice, ticks and other
parasites love to make their homes in the fur and feathers of wildlife.
``They're cute and everything, but use common sense,'' she said,
adding that it's best to always wash your hands after handling
wildlife.
The best caretaker of an animal is its mother, said Rayeann
Hockensmith, a volunteer for the Wildlife Response Hotline. Hockensmith
and other response operators usually try to convince callers to return a
baby bird to its nest if the nest is nearby and the bird is in good
condition.
Keep the animal in a warm, safe place until help arrives. Wallace
keeps baby birds in aquariums with a desk lamp shining on them to keep
them warm.
Don't feed live worms to baby birds. A mother bird will squish the
worm with her beak before she drops it into her squawking offspring's
mouth. Birds don't usually chew, and a wriggling worm can lead to a dead
baby bird.
Don't give squirrels or birds dairy milk. Water will suffice for
squirrels and adult birds. Baby birds, however, may drown if the water
goes down the wrong pipe.
Don't feed animals canned dog food. Heavy oils prevalent in canned
food can damage their sensitive systems. Soak dry dog food in water and
call an expert for feeding schedules.
Sea gulls are not scavenging trash-eaters by choice. When food is
scarce, they resort to cleaning up the parking lots of local grocery
stores, but what these birds prefer to dine on is seafood.
Wear gloves when handling raccoons or opossums. Be aware that these
animals may carry rabies. Because of this, Wallace does not work with
these animals.
Most importantly, call an expert for help. Wallace suggests the
Wildlife Response Inc. Hotline at 543-7000. Sponsored by the Hampton
Roads Rehabilitators, the 24-hour assistance line specializes in
community education, group presentations and wildlife care. ILLUSTRATION: Cover and inside photos by GARY C. KNAPP
Color photo on cover
Becky Wallace...
This juvenile duck is just one of hundreds of animals that Becky
Wallace has nursed back to health.
Becky Wallace tends to some young squirrels that she cared for
before releasing them back into the wild.
Wallace, whose feeding chores never end, puts food into a cage where
she was housing some pigeons.
by CNB