Letter from the Author

Who am I?? and Why am I important? is an idea that is 20+ years in the making. In 1998, I found an injured great horned owl. I lived in Florida at the time and called the local Audubon Society for some help. A young woman came out to retrieve the bird. After speaking with her about the process of rehabilitating the owl and releasing it back into the wild, I became completed obsessed about rehabilitating wild animals.

From that day I began volunteering with local wildlife rehabilitators until I was able to do it myself. I have had hundreds of wild animals; from song birds to sand hill cranes, owls to hawks, squirrels to raccoons and so many more. There is nothing quite like helping an injured animal heal and releasing it back into the wild.

My idea for the book series came from people asking me "why would you rehabilitate a nuisance animal? ". I never believed for a minute that there is any such thing. Our earth provides the perfect balance in nature and each living organism has an important role to play in the environmental success of this gorgeous planet.

I have since moved to Colorado and it has been years since I have rehabilitated animals but my love for the process has never wavered. Each time I stand in front of a class of early elementary schoolers and talk about the time that I rehabilitated animals, I see the excitement in their faces as each of them are eager to tell me their own animal stories.

I write these books for them; the preschoolers, kindergartners, first and second graders because they so love to hear about my adventures with wildlife and they have so much to contribute when I share my stories.

I encourage all readers to send me your stories about your wildlife adventures. Share your pictures with me. It brings me such joy to see so many young people gravitate to the wonder of wildlife.

Sincerely,

Heidi Danzig Miller