Licensed wildlife rehabilitator describes certification process

WARRENSBURG, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A certified wildlife rehabilitator describes the process to obtain that state license. She said the goal is to always release those animals back into the wild.

Paula Sheridan has been a New York State Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator for the last three years.

“You can download material to study. There’s also a practice exam you can download and practice with and the course now is online. It’s usually April 1st,” said Sheridan. “You take the test, fairly simple, but I’m also a registered nurse and I’ve had animals my whole life. If you study the material, know the material, it’s a pretty easy test to pass.”

Easy to become licensed but, she said, it never gets easy letting the animals go. One red fox in particular was especially hard for her to let go. 

“Smidgett was a different story because she was so young she imprinted on me. I was then her mom,” said Sheridan.

The fox was just over half a pound when Sheridan was called to rescue it. She had Smidgett for 5 months until she was almost 7 pounds.

“I would keep every animal if I could, just because I love them,” said Sheridan. “To keep a wild animal…I compare it to myself. I’m a country girl. I go to visit my daughter in Brooklyn once a year. It’s just…to take somebody out of their element. It’s like putting the country girl in the city, you’re just not happy.” Sheridan said it’s bittersweet, but it comes with the territory. 

“I let her go and for several weeks, I would still see her. She would still run out when I would go out to feed the other animals, etc…I would still see glimpses of her but eventually she moved on. She’s looking for a mate and that’s all I can hope for is that she’s out there doing well and I hopefully gave her the tools to live a long, happy life,” said Sheridan.

She keeps a log to tally up all the animals she’s rescued, so far, six foxes this year. She has to submit that document to the Department of Environmental Conservation by December 1. 

She said it’s extremely rewarding caring for an animal in need. She recently released Wilma, another red fox, and said the before and after photos were inspiring.

The New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council is holding its annual conference November 15-17. Sheridan highly recommends new rehabilitators attend the conference.