I’ve been thinking a lot about Lake Tahoe, the place I call home, and the place so many others do, too. Not just the people. The ones who have lived here far longer than any of us.
The wildlife here is not wild in the way people imagine. They’re not symbols. They’re residents. They navigate fences, traffic patterns, trash schedules, vacation seasons, drought years, porch lights, and early-morning dog walks. They adapt to us, constantly, quietly, without applause.
Some of them don’t make it through that adjustment. That’s when they end up at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. Not because they’re fragile, but because the world around them shifted faster than they could.
We step in where the gap widened. This year, that gap has been wider.
So far, we’ve cared for 895 patients and counting, the second-highest number we’ve ever recorded at LTWC. We’ve expanded our reach, helping wildlife from the coast of California to Big Bear and beyond. Every rescue and treatment is part of the work that keeps our wild neighbors safe and our community connected to them.
We are asking our neighbors to step up for their neighbors, the wild ones. Our goal is to raise $200,000 by the end of the year to provide the food, medicine, shelter, and care these animals need to survive the season and thrive in the years ahead. Every donation, large or small, ensures that the foxes, owls, cottontails, and countless other residents of Lake Tahoe have a fighting chance.
Together, we can protect the locals and honor the home we all share.
Thank you for standing with them, and with all of us who share this community.
– Catherine Mendez, Executive Director
