Hi! 

I am Destiny Houghton, the director of Woodland Wonders Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

I want you to trust this page to be a genuine source of wildlife knowledge. The stories are real. The people are real. The animals are real. 

And with that, I want to be very transparent with you about funds.

I began volunteering in wildlife rehabilitation when I was just a child. In the 15+ years I have been doing this, I have never received monetary compensation for my time, nor have I asked for it.

When I took over Woodland Wonders, I intended for this to be a part time thing I did while I continued to work elsewhere in animal welfare. Not soon after, my phone began ranging off the hook and it quickly became 40+ hours a week of bottle feeding, cage cleaning, phone calls, fundraising, cage building, education, etc. There are so many people finding injured and orphaned wild animals that need help, and I want to continue to serve that need. This quickly became a full time job.

It has given me great pleasure and purpose to help these animals in need. It is the first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do when I go to bed. There are no nights off. There are no weekends off.

As fulfilled and happy as I am with my choice, the reality is an income is needed to support my family. I have a son, mortgage, dogs, gas, utilities, etc just like everyone else.

We are establishing a salary that is far below minimum wage given the hours I work, so that people can feel comfortable knowing that the large majority of their funds donated to Woodland Wonders go directly to the animals – as it should be.

I created a Patreon page that is not part of Woodland Wonders 501c3 status. This is my own personal page, my own thoughts and my own experiences. This page gives subscribers an insight to the world of wildlife rehabilitation from my point of view. You’ll see behind the scenes pictures. You can read my 2am thoughts as I feed a baby fox. It shows videos of intakes, triage, rescues, medical care, enrichment and the day to day lives of the animals in my care. These funds go directly to me. This allows me to continue to help the animals full time while being able to support my family.

Donations sent to Woodland Wonders provide everything tangible the animals need- food, medications, enclosures, cleaning supplies, enrichment, vet visits, etc.

Subscriptions to my Patreon allow ME to continue to run the place, to be with these orphaned and injured animals to provide the very best care I can. It allows me to be here to feed them, medicate them, clean their wounds, bring them to their veterinary appointments, clean their enclosures, etc.

Both of the above are necessary for their survival…

… And separating the two puts you in control and let’s you decide where you want your funds to go.

We do not expect everyone to donate and it certainly isn’t required for us to help an animal you find. If you can donate, either to Woodland Wonders directly or to support my Patreon page (or even to both!) then we appreciate that contribution immensely. But if you aren’t able to donate and simply enjoy following us on social media and reading the stories, that is absolutely fine with us!

Click the button below to learn more about Patreon membership.

Thank you for your continued support!

Destiny Houghton