The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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June 20, 2008

Area woman rehabilitates wild animals

By Kasey Fowler, Staff Writer

Ever wonder what to do with an injured or orphaned wild animal?

Julie Miller has the answer. Bring it to her. Miller is a wildlife rehabilitator located in Breckinridge.

“I get calls from the general public, the police department, the sheriff’s department and the game warden,” Miller said.

“There are four of us in Enid that do rehab,” she said. The others are Dennis Covarrubias, Eve Reim and Tina Pulis.

“I never know what I’m going to have or in what condition. I never know what I’m going to have till the phone rings,” Miller said.

Currently, Miller has several species of animals, including barn owls, fawns and raccoons.

The baby barn owls are in a wooden barn, where they have a temporary nest. When they get big enough, Miller will release mice in their pen to teach them to hunt.

Miller also has four fawns now. They are from Alfalfa County, Carmen, Ringwood and Ponca City.

“I soft release them into the yard. They are allowed out in the yard during the day, and I lock them up at night,” Miller said of the fawns.

Miller has eight raccoons. Five of them are from Enid. Their tree was knocked down during a storm, and they were found when city workers went to chop up the tree.

“The raccoons get live fish in their pool. They have to learn to fish.” Miller said.

The raccoons also have climbing ropes, some made from donated fire hose, across their cages.

Inside her clinic Miller also has a baby skunk. Miller said it doesn’t smell like most people think. She also has a blue jay and two pigeons that were rescued from a gutter.

“I do all species. I don’t pick and choose,” Miller said.

Although Miller takes all species of animal, she is the only one of the local wildlife rehabilitators able to take larger animals and birds of prey. She works with Vance Air Force Base with birds of prey.

“I do a lot of work with Vance Air Force Base. They have a bunch of kites that breed out there,” Miller said.

Miller said the birds at Vance don’t always get along with the humans.

Miller also has ducks and swans in her pond. She says many people buy ducks around Easter then find they can’t handle them and release them into ponds. If the ducks are released too early they won’t have developed all the feathers they need and they can’t regulate their body temperature.

Miller has been doing this about seven years, but her interest started as a child.

“When I was a kid and 10 in Mississippi I volunteered with a vet. It sparked my interest,” Miller said.

Veronique Jarrell-King volunteers with Miller, who said many people want to volunteer, thinking they get to cuddle and play with the animals.

“The reality is to keep them as wild as possible. They have to have minimum human contact,” Miller said, “If I allow them to be tamed, I sentence them to death.”

Miller said she has federal and state permits and is inspected every June.

“We receive zero funding from the government. It is all out of pocket. It gets to be an expensive hobby,” she said. “Donations are always appreciated.”

Miller has a wish list on her Web site. She said many of the items on her list are things people are going to throw away anyway, but she can use them.

To contact Miller, call (580) 446-5679 or e-mail her at julie@virtuallyjulie.com. Her Web site is http://www.virtuallyjulie.com.

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