Squirrels!

Many of you have probably been closely following the relief efforts going on along the gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Ike. If so, you may have heard about the wildlife who have also been affected by this great natural disaster. WildRescue has been charged with the care and feeding of more than 100 baby squirrels who have been transported up here by the caring folks down in the Houston area. When our President, Diana, heard that the rehabbers down there were overwhelmed with the wildlife being brought in to their facilities, she put out the call for people here in the Denton area to learn to care for these precious little ones. Volunteers came out of the woodwork to one of the three classes she taught in a single weekend and all of the squirrels were distributed among them. We are eternally grateful for the work of people who care so much about these small survivors.

But not everyone seems as pleased with the efforts as we are. The local NBC news website today posted a poll question: "Do you think it's a waste of resources to rescue squirrels from the Texas Gulf Coast?" Sadly, they added no explanation or information on the subject, just that one misleading question that makes it sound as if the resources being used to care for these little guys are being taken from other relief efforts. All of the resources that WildRescue, and many other wildlife groups like us, have used toward the care and feeding of the Houston squirrels has come from private donations given specifically for the purpose of caring for animals in need. Quite a bit of it has come out of the pockets of the rehabbers themselves. As always, we are an all volunteer group and every dime we receive goes toward the care of creatures in need. So I would encourage all who are reading this to visit the poll and let them know what you think of the issue. Please also take a moment to click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page and tell the folks there at NBC know exactly what you think of their poll.

UPDATE: NBC finally posted the whole story, sort of... be sure not to miss the comments. I find the difference in spelling and grammar between the opposing sides of the argument to be quite telling. Meanwhile, Fox News got it right.