First, please know that no patients were injured from the water damage. Knowing our facility would be out of commission for a time, our first priority was to transfer patients to other facilities and to release patients that were ready to return to the wild. Those transfers and releases have all been completed.
As for the building, unfortunately the water damage is severe. Parts of the ceiling came down in multiple rooms, water went into the walls, and critical equipment like our x-ray machine were damaged. The repairs will be significant and may take 2-3 months or longer, although we hope to have a solution sooner. During that time, the facility will be closed. Because of the forced closure we aren’t able to take new patients at this time.
If you find a wild animal while the building is closed, we encourage you to call Bird Alliance of Oregon’s hotline 503-292-0304 or email wildlife@birdallianceoregon.org as a first step. We can help determine the best option for you and your situation. Leave a message and our volunteers and staff will get back to you as soon as possible. We return calls and emails between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. every day, usually within a few minutes of receiving your message.
Whenever possible, the best solution is to take injured wild animals directly to another permitted wildlife rehabilitation center. The closest in our area are: Wildlife Center of North Coast in Astoria, Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene, and Chintimini Wildlife Center in Corvallis. It’s best to follow the receiving center’s patient drop off instructions as each one is a little different. When this is not possible, most animals can be taken to Dove Lewis for stabilization, and Bird Alliance of Oregon volunteers are helping to transport animals from there to other permitted rehabilitation centers. Dove Lewis does have some limitations on what they can accept (for example they don’t accept ducks, geese, or bats) so it’s best to call the WCC to discuss your specific situation first. Dove Lewis will accept wildlife dropped off between 8 a.m. -11 p.m.
We’re still waiting to hear the final word from insurance on what they will cover. We know many have reached out asking if we need financial support. We won’t know the answer to that until we hear back, but in the meantime if you’d like to support the Wildlife Care Center, it’s always appreciated. You can make a donation here. We are also in need of volunteers who can help us provide compassionate wildlife advice to our community. You can read more about this opportunity here.
We’ll keep the community updated as we go forward. Our Wildlife Care Center is the largest and busiest in the region, and our staff take their responsibility as caretakers for injured and orphaned wildlife very seriously. We’re thankful that this happened during our slowest season, affecting the fewest number of patients. Now we’re working to get our facility back online and open to the public as quickly as possible.
