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A review by kevin_shepherd
Raccoon Gangs, Pigeons Gone Bad, and Other Animal Adventures: A Wildlife Rehabber's Tale of Birds and Beasts by Trish Ann Konieczny
3.0
I have been an active wildlife rehab volunteer for a decade. It is an important part of my existence and, for my closest friends, it has come to define who I am and what I stand for. For that reason I was excited to see that a knowledgeable, experienced rehabber had written a book about her experiences. Unfortunately, Trish Ann Konieczny’s sincere and heartfelt offering is a little shortsighted and disappointing.
First, let’s talk about the good. All of us involved in wildlife rehab have, for lack of a better term, our “spirit animal.” It is that specific whatever-species of being that falls (sometimes quite literally) into our lives and somehow changes the course of our existence. For Trish it was a raccoon (or rather, four raccoons!), for me it was a Mississippi kite. For both of us, our paths were forever altered by baby animals who plopped rather unceremoniously out of a tree and into our hearts.
Konieczny is a natural born story teller. Whether it’s raccoons or pigeons or rabbits or squirrels, she relates her experiences with a flair and sense of humor that both captivates and inspires. Like all of us who become involved with these creatures, she made a few rookie mistakes when she started out—that’s completely understandable. We live and we learn. I can tell you first hand that this is harder than it looks. No human is born with the algorithm of nurturing nature’s vast menagerie, we come by it through trial and error, education and exasperation, determination and compromise.
There is good advice here. I lost count of how many times I found myself nodding in agreement and saying (never out loud) “you go girl!” I wish everyone could hear and thus benefit from the wisdom of Trish’s years of experience. Herein lies the problem. This book is formatted, intentionally or unintentionally, for a very specific, very Christian demographic.
Unlike the author, I don’t rehab animals at my home. My work is done at the largest wildlife care facility in Oklahoma. We treat thousands of animals every year, that’s no exaggeration. Consequently, I have worked alongside staff members and fellows and interns from all parts of the country, including the author’s home state of Michigan. It changes considerably from year to year, but we are consistently a diverse and eclectic bunch.
Caring for animals is a uniquely secular task. If I’m at a table syringe feeding baskets of hungry squirrels with seven or eight other volunteers and staff members you can bet your ass that not all of them are Christians. Over the years I have come to know and love Methodists and agnostics and Jews and Buddhists and Catholics and Muslims and atheists and (gulp!) even a few Baptists. In fact, most of the time I have no idea what denomination the person working next to me is—and I honestly don’t care! We are a family of companionate and dedicated human beings.
I understand that Konieczny is proud of her faith—and that’s okay. I also understand that by injecting biblical verse into every chapter she is speaking only to those who believe in what she believes and frankly that’s a little sad. But, then again, maybe that’s where the emphasis needs to be? A more encompassing theology would be (pardon the pun) a godsend!
For example: There is a disheartening photo floating around the internet showing two smiling men with rifles posing with over forty dead coyotes. If you look closely, one of those men is wearing a cross around his neck. Being “Christian” does not necessarily equate to being compassionate.
Over the years I’ve been put down (many times) and ridiculed (occasionally) by “upstanding” Christians for the work I do. One of my favorite stories to recount is of the woman who chastised me for stopping to move a turtle off a busy roadway. She told me God himself put that turtle there and by moving it out of harm’s way I was “interfering with the Lord’s work.” Hmmm…
So yeah, maybe preaching to the proverbial choir can do some good. I just think our wildlife endeavors would have been better served by reaching out to and acknowledging those among us (myself included) with different dogmas and ideologies. ‘Nuff said.
_______________________________
See also:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1993459631
First, let’s talk about the good. All of us involved in wildlife rehab have, for lack of a better term, our “spirit animal.” It is that specific whatever-species of being that falls (sometimes quite literally) into our lives and somehow changes the course of our existence. For Trish it was a raccoon (or rather, four raccoons!), for me it was a Mississippi kite. For both of us, our paths were forever altered by baby animals who plopped rather unceremoniously out of a tree and into our hearts.
Konieczny is a natural born story teller. Whether it’s raccoons or pigeons or rabbits or squirrels, she relates her experiences with a flair and sense of humor that both captivates and inspires. Like all of us who become involved with these creatures, she made a few rookie mistakes when she started out—that’s completely understandable. We live and we learn. I can tell you first hand that this is harder than it looks. No human is born with the algorithm of nurturing nature’s vast menagerie, we come by it through trial and error, education and exasperation, determination and compromise.
There is good advice here. I lost count of how many times I found myself nodding in agreement and saying (never out loud) “you go girl!” I wish everyone could hear and thus benefit from the wisdom of Trish’s years of experience. Herein lies the problem. This book is formatted, intentionally or unintentionally, for a very specific, very Christian demographic.
Unlike the author, I don’t rehab animals at my home. My work is done at the largest wildlife care facility in Oklahoma. We treat thousands of animals every year, that’s no exaggeration. Consequently, I have worked alongside staff members and fellows and interns from all parts of the country, including the author’s home state of Michigan. It changes considerably from year to year, but we are consistently a diverse and eclectic bunch.
Caring for animals is a uniquely secular task. If I’m at a table syringe feeding baskets of hungry squirrels with seven or eight other volunteers and staff members you can bet your ass that not all of them are Christians. Over the years I have come to know and love Methodists and agnostics and Jews and Buddhists and Catholics and Muslims and atheists and (gulp!) even a few Baptists. In fact, most of the time I have no idea what denomination the person working next to me is—and I honestly don’t care! We are a family of companionate and dedicated human beings.
I understand that Konieczny is proud of her faith—and that’s okay. I also understand that by injecting biblical verse into every chapter she is speaking only to those who believe in what she believes and frankly that’s a little sad. But, then again, maybe that’s where the emphasis needs to be? A more encompassing theology would be (pardon the pun) a godsend!
For example: There is a disheartening photo floating around the internet showing two smiling men with rifles posing with over forty dead coyotes. If you look closely, one of those men is wearing a cross around his neck. Being “Christian” does not necessarily equate to being compassionate.
Over the years I’ve been put down (many times) and ridiculed (occasionally) by “upstanding” Christians for the work I do. One of my favorite stories to recount is of the woman who chastised me for stopping to move a turtle off a busy roadway. She told me God himself put that turtle there and by moving it out of harm’s way I was “interfering with the Lord’s work.” Hmmm…
So yeah, maybe preaching to the proverbial choir can do some good. I just think our wildlife endeavors would have been better served by reaching out to and acknowledging those among us (myself included) with different dogmas and ideologies. ‘Nuff said.
_______________________________
See also:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1993459631