Susan D.

When I was preparing to retire early in 2023, I knew I wanted the next chapter of my life to be about something I genuinely cared about. I wanted a passion project I could pour myself into, and I kept coming back to one thing: helping animals.

At the time, I lived in a condo, so working with domestic animals wasn’t really an option. That led me to wildlife rehabilitation—and somewhere along the way, I completely fell in love with squirrels. Their intelligence, resilience, curiosity, and huge personalities packed into those tiny bodies absolutely stole my heart. Honestly, just saying the word “squirrel” can brighten my day.

As I gained more experience volunteering in wildlife rehabilitation, I also began seeing some of the challenges rehabbers face, especially the lack of accessible diagnostic resources for wildlife. I realized I didn’t just want to care for these animals—I wanted to understand what was happening medically and help give rehabbers better information to make treatment decisions.

That realization eventually sent me back to school to learn more about veterinary medicine, laboratory diagnostics, and the equipment used to perform them. What started as a search for a meaningful passion project has grown into a much bigger dream: continuing to rehabilitate squirrels while ultimately creating a wildlife rehabilitation and diagnostic center of my own.

I went looking for something meaningful to do with the next chapter of my life. I found squirrels—and they gave that chapter a purpose.