Two fawns, a gosling and a whole brood of ducklings.
These are the current occupants of 2016 Citizen of the Year Helen Jameson’s wildlife rehabilitation farm in Blewett, and they will benefit from the upcoming Save-On Foods fundraiser next Thursday.
“Last year about this time I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue with this. I thought it was time I backed away and let someone else do it,” she told the Star.
“But there is nobody else, so I got past that and I’m really enjoying spending time with the animals. It’s good for me, keeps me alive.”
Jameson has been doing this job for decades, and was celebrated at a gala event earlier this year. Save-on Foods does an annual fundraiser to help her pay for milk and feed, last time around raising $400 — a number they hope to beat this year.
“It really does mean everything to me. I’m dependent on just myself here, unless anyone donates money, so it really does make a big difference.”
She’s currently purchasing special grain for the ducks and the gosling, but she also has to be ready for whatever new animal may be brought by the conservation service in the coming months. That means she needs lots and lots of goat’s milk.
“These fawns will be here until the fall, so they’re going to require a lot of milk, and then I could get anything — a moose, an elk — it’s still early on, so I don’t know.”
One animal she can’t take: skunks.
Jameson thanked the community for its support. Residents who would like to donate money need only swing by Save-on Foods next Thursday, where there will be a booth set up.
“It was tough for me when my husband died a few years back. I went blank for a while. But now I’m really enjoying the animals again and hoping to continue for a few more years.”
