I absolutely adore this place and feel everyone should go. My story is this......
I am a wildlife rehabilitator. I received a call while broken down, on the side of I5, by a student at Evergreen College
There was a red fox laying on the grounds with a broken leg.
Fish and Wildlife would not come get it.
Now.....the fox wanted to live ...I know this because he went to people for help...if he wanted to die he would have crawled off into the woods somewhere.
I obviously couldn't retreive him myself so I sent my volunteer Claudia Supensky and her brother to pick it up.
Her brother ,trained in first aid, bandaged the leg which was bleeding profusely. They transported the fox to Tumwater Veterinary Hospital where I work. Dr. Bennett, my wildlife vet and my boss, examined, x-rayed and stabilized the fox. We decided to do an external fixator in the morning.
This fox let me pet her and hold her like a puppy.
Morning arrived we anesthetized the fox and began prepping the leg, the foot was dead.......... The decision now was amputation.
The decision to amputate left us with where the now non-releaseable fox would go. I called various rehabilitators, Nothwest Trek etc and noyone had room to keep one. I was not going to put the poor fox through the stress of surgery just to be put down due to noyone having space I would rather euthanize under anethesia.
I called the Olympic Game Farm suggested by Northwest Trek and my savior Bob Beebe said he had room for her. We performed the surgery and Dr. Gregg Bennett and Dr. Sarah Perigo removed Foxy's front leg up to the shoulder.
Foxy recovered with remarkable speed she was running around the next day, still a very loving litle girl I was getting very attatched.
The day came to drive her up, she dug at the kennel door the whole way up, quelled only by chicken fed to her during the drive.
When I arrived at the park and met the very handsome Bob Beele I was apprehensive. I usually don't agree with animals being caged myself.
There were adorable feral bunnies everywhere, beautiful peacocks strolled the grounds.
Bob led us to the location where foxey would reside. My heart hurt a little that this would be her home forever. The fact that she was so comfortable around humans made it a little easier but I honestly felt she could do just fine in the wild on three legs.
Bob walked us through the caged animals and told us the story of each one. Cougars brought by Fish and Wildlife that normally would have been killed either because they were raised by humans or just have no fear of them. Bobcats raised by humans who abandoned them in apartments, zoo animals being retired etc.
Sad stories for sure but not caused by the game farm nowadays.
The enclosures do require udating and Bob knows that. He IS working on a new layout for the caged area, he is working with a company on a new design and a new location for it. As a wildlife rehabilitator I know how expensive it is to feed all those animals and how how it is to manage the care of just a few.
Money doesn't fall from the sky.
Not visiting is the crime in my eyes, Bob is no millionaire he is a humble animal lover taking care of a concept his grandfather started a long time ago. The history is what it is.... the park now is a different thing altogether.
Instead of pointing fingers and being judgemental about the downside, we should figure out how to help and make things better.....money makes things better..don't bitch....fundraise..if your gonna judge and turn your head then keep your ignorant mouth shut, because you, like the rest of us know nothing. If you own a pet and don't agree with animals being in captivity then you are a hippocrit!
Go to the park feed the WHEAT bread, which is the only thing the USDA will let the public feed,... tell your friends to go and help them collect the money they need to make the nescessary improvements!!!!
Foxy was just that...she managed to escape her cage the next day, Bob finds furry evidence that she is hanging around but hasn't seen her. I know she is doing fine especially since there is NO shortage of rabbits running the grounds. It is the perfect place for her to be free and a three legged human loving fox.
Now when I go it's like where's waldo. read more