CURB PULSE 2022

phone and guided him through the
process of how to safely capture and
bring the owl into the hospital.
The man, upon bringing in the
owl, explained to the staff that he
had recently lost his wife, who was
an avid lover of owls. He believes the
owl is her spiritual animal and his
wife was trying to reach him.
“We, as humans, have the capability
to interject ourselves into these
things and do the right thing,” Nass
says. “It means a lot to us that one
life is saved, because it’s a life.”
The respect for wildlife and all living
things propelled the idea of Fellow
Mortals to flourish.
Its foundation dates back to when
Yvonne and her husband managed
a mobile home park. As Yvonne
was mowing the lawn one day, she
accidentally ran over a nest of baby
rabbits. Yvonne, upset and unsure
of what to do, called several animal
hospitals, but none of them had a
solution to help besides advising her
to let nature take its course.
Unsatisfied with this answer,
Yvonne and her husband took the
baby rabbits into their home and
cared for them, nurturing them back
to health and then releasing them
back into the wild.
“For me, it is mostly a matter of
respect, appreciation and a feeling
of duty that these other species that
share our space are being impacted
by human activities every single
day,” Yvonne says. “They have no
one to speak for them. They have
no one to help them. They have nowhere
to go. And so that’s really why
we’re still here today.”
Fellow Mortals’ impact continues
to grow. She and her husband want
to convert Fellow Mortals’ 52 acres
of land into a permanent home for
wildlife that can no longer be released
back into the wild.
They envision having local community,
school and church groups
come into a controlled environment
and letting them interact with and
learn about the different wildlife of
Wisconsin, while making sure the
animals still have privacy and space
to retreat.
The team at Fellow Mortals Wild-
life Hospital is passionate and committed
to helping the wildlife of Wisconsin,
no matter the condition, size
or species that comes to them.
“We really do run on faith and
hope,” Yvonne says. “I sometimes say
one promise, one purpose, one life at
a time.”
An array of wildife
can be found at
Fellow Mortals
Wildlife Hospital,
including this
baby squirrel who
is a current Fellow
Mortals resident.