Overall it turned okay, very tiring, but there's also some good news in all of this that has not only benefited the center and staff but the interns as well.
The two rehabbers obtained their advanced license! What does this mean? We are not capable of taking in any animal as long as their is an approved protocol or guideline for its care. The Wisconsin DNR approves such things and I am so so happy that they granted the two rehabbers their advanced. They deserved it and it's absolutely great to see the center finally almost back in 100% full swing like it was years again. Bright future ahead for sure!
Now onto this morning. It started off with raccoon feedings of course. I had to weigh all 13 raccoons, feed them, clean their bedding, and do all the dishes associated with all this. On top of this had to make more mash and eggs since whomever was on rehab yesterday left everything practically down to the nitty gritty or almost not there. Thankfully the rehabbers did not leave me hanging because one came back to help clean all the raccoon cages then dish out solids for me. Weighing and dishes just took forever so I truly felt slow but sometimes the raccoons just do not want to sit still. Very thankful for all the help indeed.
After this was over with I had to feed/clean all the mice cages (at least 17 from small to large) and I think I put away and did some dishes but can't 100% remember. I think I made more eggs as well and maybe some mash but overall this is all hazy. Next thing you know it was time for 12pm raccoon feeding.
Just before I finished 12pm raccoon stuff I found out the best news ever! That the rehabbers go their advanced license, as said before. What this means is that we are not able to feed squirrels and other rodents and rabbits besides just raccoons. Of course we will now need more training but this means more experience and I am thrilled! Around 2pm today, which was after lunch, I got the chance to feed a squirrel for the first time. What makes me feel 10x more special is the fact that I can say I am the very first intern to feed anything besides the raccoons under the two rehabbers new license. First intern ever! Now that is truly exciting to me!
I also had the 2pm raccoon feeding as well. Another intern started to help me with it until a tour popped up then I was doing it solo again. Just helped me gain more experience is all. Once the feeding was over I went to Antigo with a gosling that was brought in the evening before today. We would have taken it last night but it was so late and everyone's just been very tired. We intended to work more on protocols too....which I found out that everyone is practically done except me. All this time I wanted to be the first one done and here I am the last. I feel bad for not working on them for a few days but I was just mentally exhausted, overaly frustrated, and I guess I just couldn't suck it up on top of everything else anymore. Sometimes I still wonder if I truly like rehabilitation or not. I am just not sure of what I want anymore I guess. Not every job is perfect, so far all of them swing back and forth between like and dislike but I guess the question is do the dislikes out weight the likes? Not entirely.
Once I dropped the bird off and returned from Antigo I went straight to a place with all you can eat fish fry. Everyone was there but one intern who has been sick and one of the three staff members our age due to family being in town. It was honestly a fun time but I think my tiredness was getting the best too me. I just felt really awkward around every one all of a sudden.... I guess all I wanted to do was relax but this never truly happened yet...even though it's 11:32pm now.
When the fish fry was over and we all returned I had to jump straight into the RISO in order to feed raccoons and try dishing out food. While inside I noticed the floors needed swept/mopped, some dishes needed done, trash would probably need taken out, and that I managed to forget about cleaning their cages earlier in the day. Thankfully one of the interns who was off showed up and helped me dish out food despite how slow I may have been moving. Too much to do at once is what it felt like. After food was dished he helped put some stuff away and I asked him if he could help restock some sheets. He and a previous intern helped do that so I started dishes, sweeping/mopping, and general cleaning. The RISO ended up not as spotless as the previous day but was much cleaner then what it looked before. I was in a good pair of clothes too and sweating like none other so I did not want to make my stay inside there forever but just long enough to do all that I could and get out before I grew too tired.
After RISO stuff was finished I then went back into the kitchen and made eggs for the rehab crew tomorrow plus made a little bit of mash to get them started. I then did almost all the kitchen dishes, cleaned up a little bit by finishing restocking sheets and putting away the sheet/blanket bin, and disinfected some surfaces. I was going to make more mash and formula for raccoons but I was honestly too scared to walk back to the walk-in freezer because I did not have a light and could barely see when taking the trash out. Plus I was not interested in being cold, especially after sweating, I would have froze more then I normally do when I walk in there.
Once cleaning was finished I climbed back up here around 11:10 or 20 and crawled into bed to type this up. Another tired day and I also have phone duty tonight... not too thrilled about that and kind of wish I was back on rehabilitation tomorrow. At the moment I have no interest in dealing with people whatsoever but maybe I am just in a mood because of being tired. Kept the best attitude I could though. If anything, this was a huge experience day and I hoped I maybe set the example for some others when it comes to restocking food stuff to help the day go faster for the interns the following day. Who knows, have some doubts, but we'll see.
Sorry this is somewhat short because a lot did happen to day. Was on the go non-stop from 8am to 11pm basically but I forget so much because I'm tired. Hopefully I will remember more tomorrow. Today marked the halfway point of my internship. Only 48 days left with 48 behind me....its so crazy, but so glad it can be spent with advanced license and gaining more experience. This whole internship = willy definitely pay off someday.
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