Linda Anderson was in Tiddle E Winks shop on West Napa to pick up some candy bars when she told this reporter about Fawn Rescue. Tiddle E Winks Vintage Five and Dime has a donation box at the cashier counter and Anderson, who volunteers at Fawn Rescue, thought it an opportune time to say something about it and a few little known facts that people should know.
“Most of the endangerment that happens to all wildlife not just deer is because of human encroachment,” said Anderson. She pointed out that Sonoma’s natural beauty and rural pace of life is being impacted by the influx of housing and real estate development.
As homes expand and people build in places where wildlife roamed, the habitat of many animals that live in the valley are in danger from human expansion and suburban lifestyle trends.
Anderson then talked about Fawn Rescue’s founder Marjorie McKenzie Davis. At 95 years old, Marj as everyone calls her, still goes out on rescue calls at least once a week or so. Matt Wolfe who now has taken over much of the work, noted that Marj’s passion and dedication is still just as strong as it was more than 26 years ago when she founded the rescue outreach.
I had the opportunity to meet with Marj at VJB Winery and Cellars in Kenwood, not far from where Marj lives. We chatted for about an hour and she talked about Fawn Rescue as her life’s work.
“I always had an affinity for wildlife,” she said. Originally from Pennsylvania, Marj said she always wanted to move Westward and be a part of a place like California with its magnificent mountains, rolling hills and lush valleys. Over 40 years ago Marj and her husband came to the area and bought a home in the hills above Kenwood, which has plenty of land to accommodate a few fawns and other wildlife.
Yet at that time she and her husband were just settling into retirement. Until, as Marj explained, “One day our beagle brought in a little squirrel. I wanted to make sure it got to see a veterinarian, to be checked out and returned back to the wild.” It took Marj some effort but she located a wildlife center and she became a volunteer. A new path opened up.
Over time she noticed that there was very little outreach for deer and nothing for fawns. She approached the center about this but they refused. “They told me, ‘no, we don’t take on fawns,'” she said. “‘Because they are too delicate, the outreach care is too expensive’ and so on. I tried to reason with them pointing out to them that there was a need. But they insisted it was not something they wanted to do.”
Marj was shocked to learn that in all of Sonoma County there was nothing for fawns and deer. “I realized then that this was my calling,” she said. Her very first fawn rescue was on a swath of private property someone had alerted her to. “I admit my first attempt was a bit of a struggle and a learning experience. But from then on I was hooked,” she said.
Serendipity provided Marj with her next rescue mission, which took her by surprise. “Some how word to the local Dept. of Fish and Game, (now called CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) she said, because (back then) they called me up one day and said they had five fawns in Napa that needed a place to stay.”
“I was astounded that they called,” she said. With the phone call from the local Dept. of Fish and Game, she realized her calling was indeed meant to be. And even more to her surprise, her application for a permit to rescue wildlife was processed and approved within a week’s time.” Now with a permit her work was official. “I kept getting calls for deer in need of rescue and after 10 years I realized I needed help.”
So, Marj began to get the help of others who had some land that could accommodate a fawn or deer to rescue; referring to them as ‘satellite stations’ “I also realized that I needed help to pay for expenses to others working under my permit,” she said. This is how Davis formed Fawn Rescue as a non-profit. She is very grateful to Dr. Patrick Grant of Montecito Veterinary Center. “He has been most helpful to the cause and is always there when I need him.”
Yet as she pointed out, having a knowledgeable staff is essential because wild animals (such as fawns) are very different from domesticated animals.
The important “imprinting” or bonding that must take place is critical within the first few hours and days of a fawns’ life when it is born. Because of human encroachment, a doe, (the mother deer) leaves a fawn in the forest, hidden among the brush, while she looks for food. Usually, in the process of looking for food for her little one, the doe is hit by a car. This then leaves the fawn vulnerable to the elements, mostly to starvation and dehydration.
Davis explained that Fawn Rescue’s mission is simply to help the animals return to the wild unaffected by humans. “We work to avoid doing anything that would make them remain in captivity. So handling them, treating them as pets, only makes them more dependent. These are wild creatures, she said. They are part of nature and are intended for the wild.”
In her first book published in 1998 entitled ‘Leap to Freedom – True stories of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, including Deer Gabriel,’ Marj describes the inhumanity of a disregard for wildlife.
Poachers and a lack of understanding of the cycle of life illustrate how much the natural world depends upon everything being right where it needs to be. People’s lack of understanding of the wildlife around them also contributes to the endangerment of these wild creatures.
Julie Shoffner-McGee is the education coordinator for Fawn Rescue. And it was through Davis’ book that she got involved in the mission of Fawn Rescue. “I reach out to schools mostly and I teach the children the important message that animals in the wild are not pets.”
“I avoid any political issues or controversial legislative or policy topics when making presentations,” she said. “I just want to help raise awareness and educated them about animals in the wild.”
Shoffner-McGee also pointed out. “Many kids today don’t get out as much in the open spaces. So these presentations are something new to them. I teach kids not to feed wild animals; and that includes raccoons and squirrels,” she said. “It is very important that as the drought has caused many wild animals to wonder into residential areas to look for water and food, that people don’t leave garbage out to encourage them.”
Raccoons are notorious for rummaging through garbage bins. “It is wise to make sure bins are secured and locked tight, or kept out of reach,” said Shoffer-McGee. “Wild animals should not be hanging around humans.”. Like Davis, she understands that to best protect wild animals is to maintain a respectful distance from them.
“When we see animals in the wild, I tell the kids to just enjoy the moment of seeing them. Don’t approach them. And if they are hurt or injured, to call for help. Yet, most importantly when catching a glimpse of wild life in our midst, just appreciate the moment, because we are sharing this planet earth with them.”
For more information about Fawn Rescue of Sonoma County, visit web site or call 707-931-4550.
A fundraiser dinner for Fawn Rescue will be held at Oakmont Golf Club in Santa Rosa on March 11, 2016. For more information, see the Fawn Rescue web site.
